ST-P 


CALIFORNIA   STATE    MINING    BUREAU 

FERRY   BUILDING,   SAN  FRANCISCO 
FLETCHER  HAMILTON  State  Mineralogist 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT  No.  8  [January,  1922 


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A  REVIEW  OF 


1INING  IN  CALIFORNIA 
DURING  1921 

WITH  NOTES  ON 

THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  1922 

LABOR  CONDITIONS 
NEEDS  OF  THE  INDUSTRY 


Of 


CAI.miUMA    STATK    I'HIXTIXG    OFFICE 

SACRAMENTO 

1  0  21 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 3 

MAP  OF  CALIFORNIA  SHOWING  MINING  BUREAU  FIELD  OFFICES 4 

INTRODUCTION 5 

FUELS    7 

REDDING  DISTRICT 7 

AUBURN  DISTRICT 9 

SAN   FRANCISCO  DISTRICT 9 

Los  ANGELES  DISTRICT 11 

METALS 12 

REDDING  DISTRICT 12 

AUBURN  DISTRICT 21 

SAN   FRANCISCO   DISTRICT 43 

Los   ANGELES    DISTRICT 45 

STRUCTURAL  MATERIALS 48 

REDDING  DISTRICT 48 

AUBURN  DISTRICT  — 49 

SAN   FRANCISCO   DISTRICT 50 

Los    ANGELES    DISTRICT al 

INDUSTRIAL  MATERIALS 52 

REDDING  DISTRICT 52 

AUBURN  DISTRICT 55 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT 57 

Los  ANGELES  DISTRICT 58 

SALINES    —  61 

REDDING  DISTRICT 61 

AUBURN  DISTRICT 61 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT 61 

Los  ANGELES  DISTRICT 62 

PETROLEUM  AND  GAS  IN  CALIFORNIA  IN  1921 64 

MINING  BUREAU  PUBLICATIONS  AVAILABLE  FOR  DISTRIBUTION 67 

INDEX    .  69 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 

To  His  Excellency,  HONORABLE  WILLIAM  D.  STEPHENS, 
Governor  of  the  State  of  California. 

SIR:  I  take  pleasure  in  submitting  herewith  Preliminary  Report 
No.  8  entitled  "A  Review  of  Mining  in  California  During  1921,"  which 
includes  notes  on  the  mining  outlook  for  1922. 

The  information  contained  herein  has  been  made  available  as  a  result 
of  the  Bureau 's  system  of  working  through  branch  offices  in  the  mining 
regions  of  the  state.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  the  material 
in  particularly  finished  form,  its  value  lying  in  the  timeliness  of  its 
appearance  and  the  definite  manner  in  which  the  subject  is  discussed. 

It  is  believed  that  this  publication  will  be  appreciated  by  the  general 
mining  public,  inasmuch  as  such  authentic  information  has  not  com- 
monly been  available,  in  the  past,  until  much  later  in  the  year. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

FLETCHER  HAMILTON, 

State  Mineralogist. 
January  1,  1922. 


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INTRODUCTION. 

For  over  two  years  the  State  Mining  Bureau  has  been  carrying  on 
its  field  work  through  district  engineers  in  branch  offices  as  shown  on 
the  map  on  the  opposite  page,  and  as  a  result  of  the  personal  contact 
with  the  mining  industry  thus  achieved,  it  has  been  possible  to  greatly 
increase  the  efficiency  of  the  service  which  the  Bureau  at  all  times 
strives  to  offer  by  way  of  aiding  in  the  development  of  the  natural 
resources  of  California. 

The  personnel  of  the  technical  staff  carrying  on  this  work  in  the 
various  districts  during  1921  was  as  follows : 

E.  S.  Boalich,  Chief  Mining  Engineer,  San  Francisco  Field  Division. 

C.  A.  Logan,  Mining  Engineer,  Auburn  Field  Division. 

C.  McK.  Laizure,  Mining  Engineer,  Redding  Field  Disvision. 

C.  S.  Haley,  Mining  Engineer,  Los  Angeles  Field  Division  (January 
to  June). 

M.  A.  Newman,  Mining  Engineer,  Los  Angeles  Field  Division  (July 
to  December). 

The  material  offered  in  the  following  brief  review  is  a  compilation 
of  the  notes  prepared  by  the  above  men,  covering  various  phases  of 
the  mining  industry  which  they  have  observed  in  the  course  of  their 
work  during  the  past  year.  It  does  not  presume  to  be  a  detailed  record 
of  the  mines  and  mineral  deposits  of  the  state,  information  of  that 
nature  being  available  in  the  XIV,  XV,  XVI  and  XVII  Reports  of 
the  State  Mineralogist,  as  well  as  in  various  bulletins  which  have  been 
issued  on  particular  branches  of  our  mineral  industry. 

This  review  does,  however,  attempt  to  convey  at  a  glance  some  idea 
of  the  general  mining  situation  here,  in  1921,  and  to  mention  items  of 
interest  which  have  been  noted  during  that  period,  particularly  as 
regards  new  development  and  activities,  as  well  as  to  show  something 
regarding  the  future  outlook  for  this  industry. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to  state,  in  this  connection,  that  even  in 
the  face  of  slack  times  in  metal  mining,  California 's  mineral  output  as  a 
whole  has  consistently  increased. 


6  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

So  widely  is  the  industry  distributed  and  so  diversified  are  its  various 
products  that  a  slump  in  some  materials  usually  seems  to  be  offset 
by  a  period  of  activity  in  another  group.  It  is  also  a  matter  of  great 
importance  to  the  citizens  of  this  state  to  realize  that  our  potential 
mineral  resources  are  almost  unlimited,  at  least  as  far  as  the  present 
generation  and  many  coming  generations  are  concerned. 

Mining  is  second  only  to  agriculture  in  importance  here,  and  a  careful 
study  of  the  subject  gives  convincing  proof  that  it  is  capable  of  expan- 
sion far  beyond  any  limits  that  have  been  approached  in  the  past. 

FLETCHER  HAMILTON,  State  Mineralogist. 


A  REVIEW  OF  MINING  IN  CALIFORNIA 
DURING  1921. 


Every  one  of  California's  fifty-eight  counties  contributes  in  some 
degree  to  the  total  mineral  output.  Over  fifty  crude  materials  are 
included  in  that  total. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  intelligently  discuss  an  industry, 
as  a  whole,  which  covers  such  a  large  field,  and  it  has  therefore  been 
deemed  expedient  to  segregate  the  materials  into  five  groups  under  the 
general  classifications  of  Fuels,  Metals,  Structural  Materials,  Industrial 
Materials  and  Salines. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  report  the  above  chapter  headings  will  be 
used.  If  the  reader  is  interested  in  a  mineral  substance  which  does  not 
obviously  belong  to  one  of  those  groups,  his  attention  is  directed  to  the 
index,  where  all  subjects  covered  will  be  found  in  alphabetical  order. 

FUELS. 

REDDING  DISTRICT. 

The  mineral  fuels,  coal,  natural  gas  and  petroleum,  are  of  minor 
importance  in  the  Northern  California  Field  Division,  although'the  lat- 
ter forms  by  far  the  most  important  part  of  the  mineral  production  of 
the  state  as  a  whole.  In  this  district  chiefly  noted  for  its  metal  mines 
prospecting  for  oil,  however,  rivaled  that  for  the  metals  during  the  past 
year,  and  there  was  scarcely  a  county  in  the  district  that  was  not  visited 
by  the  promoter  or  oil  expert,  and  as  a  result  felt  the  throes  of  an  oil 
excitement  to  some  degree. 

The  presence  of  lignite  coal  strata  in  Humboldt,  Modoc,  Siskiyou, 
Shasta  and  Trinity  counties  associated  with  shales  and  sandstones,  often 
fossiliferous,  has  been  erroneously  assumed  to  be  first  hand  evidence 
of  petroleum,  and  inferences  drawn  therefrom  not  warranted  by  a 
geological  study  of  the  areas. 

It  is  probable  that,  with  the  passible  exception  of  Humboldt  County, 
where  the  indications  of  a  commercial  oil  field  are  most  pronounced, 
coal  will  eventually  prove  to  be  the  most  valuable  of  the  mineral  fuels 
of  this  district. 

COAL. 

Deposits  of  coal  of  workable  size,  some  of  which  are  of  good  quality, 
are  found  in  Humboldt,  Shasta,  Siskiyou  and  Trinity  counties ;  but  the 
majority  of  the  coal  outcrops  in  these  counties  and  those  in  Modoc,  are 
low  grade  lignites,  usually  in  rather  thin  beds.  Occasionally  these  beds 
alternate  with  clay  strata  or  slate  a  few  inches  thick,  and  produce  a  coal 
bearing  formation  from  14  to  20  or  more  feet  thick,  where  large  tonnages 
could  be  developed. 

These  coals  have  been  used  locally  for  blacksmithing  and  heating  but 
have  remained  practically  undeveloped  on  account  of  being  too  low 
grade  or  too  far  from  transportation  to  compete  with  other  coals  or  oil. 


8 


CALIFORNIA   STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 


The  full  utilization  of  these  low  grade  coals  will  rest  on  further  develop- 
ments in  the  use  of  powdered  coal  and  automatic  stokers;  the  low 
temperature  distillation  of  coal,  by  which  it  is  claimed  a  commercial 
hard  coal  may  be  produced  from  the  lignites  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
important  quantities  of  motor  fuel,  lubricating  and  fuel  oils  and  other 
by-products  obtained ;  the  manufacture  of  producer  gas ;  or  by  the  use 
of  some  process  such  as  the  Trent.  The  Trent  process,  stated  briefly, 
as  reported  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines,1  consists  in  agitating  together 
powdered  coal,  water  and  oil.  This  produces  a  partly  de-ashed  plastic 
fuel,  called  an  amalgam,  the  oil  selecting  the  coal  particles  and  largely 
excluding  the  water  and  ash. 

In  one  experiment  on  a  California  lignite,  the  ash  reduction  amounted 
to  26.8  per  cent,  the  combustible  recovery  was  95  per  cent  and  the 
sulphur  reduction  was  12  per  cent,  after  treatment. 

The  fact  that  some  of  the  largest  copper  smelters  in  this  country  are 
now  using  powdered  coal  for  furnace  firing,  suggests  the  possibility  of 
using  the  coals  of  Shasta,  Siskiyou  and  Trinity  counties  at  some  of  the 
metallurgical  or  industrial  plants  in  this  district.  It  may  also  be  the 
solution  of  the  fuel  question  for  a  cement  plant  in  Shasta  County,  the 
raw  materials  required  being  at  hand  and  abundant  electric  power 
available.  The  advanced  price  of  fuel  oil  during  the  past  year  has 
brought  some  inquiry  regarding  the  various  coal  deposits,  but  no  definite 
development  has  been  undertaken. 

NATURAL   GAS. 

A  small  amount  of  natural  gas  is  produced  and  used  locally  in  the 
Ilumboldt  oil  field,  particularly  at  Briceland. 

PETROLEUM. 

The  unusual  interest  in  oil  prospecting  the  past  year  resulted  in  the 
acquisition  of  oil  land  leases  in  nearly  all  the  counties  in  this  district 
by  individuals,  associations,  'drilling  clubs'  or  companies  and  in  some 
'wild  cat'  drilling  being  started.  Several  of  the  counties  were  pros- 
pected during,  and  before,  the  boom  days  of  1900-1903.  Drilling  first 
began  in  the  Ilumboldt  field  in  1865. 

According  to  the  State  Oil  and  Gas  Supervisor,2  the  following  wells 
were  drilled  in  this  district  with  results  noted,  prior  to  December  31, 
1903: 


County 

Producing 
wells 

Abandoned 
wells 

Wells 

drilling 

Wells 
of  doubtful 
value 

Remarks  as  to 
results 

Humboldt  ...    —  .. 

0 

14 

0 

0 

Numerops  traces 

Shasta  

0 

3 

0 

0 

of  light  oil 
Nothing 

Trliiuna    

0 

2 

0 

0 

Nothing 

'Reports   of   Investigations,    Serial    No.    2263. 

'Summary  of  Operations,  California  Oil  Fields,  March,  1921. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  9 

The  following  is  an  official  list  of  prospecting  operations  started  since 
January  1,  1920: 


County  and  operator 

Well  No. 

Section 

Township 

Range 

Meridian 

Del  Norte: 
North  Coast  Oil  and  Refining  Co  
Humboldt: 
North  Counties  Oil  Company 

1 

1 

24 
36 

16  N. 

2S. 

2  Wt 
1W. 

M.  D. 
H. 

Humboldt    Oil    Company              

1 

20 

4S. 

3E. 

H. 

Tehama: 
Tuscan  Oil  Company 

1 

25 

28  N. 

4  W. 

M.  D. 

Drilling  rigs  were  also  operating  in  Siskiyou  and  Modoc  counties 
during  the  year,  but  reports  as  to  whether  they  were  drilling  for  oil  or 
water  were  conflicting.  Considering  all  territory  outside  of  the  Hum- 
boldt field  as  'wild  cat'  the  greatest  headway  has  been  made  by  the 
Tuscan  Oil  Company,  whose  well  is  at  present  down  between  1900  and 
2000  feet.  Blue  shale  is  said  to  -have  been  encountered,  and  the  opera- 
tors are  hopeful  of  making  a  success  of  this  enterprise. 

AUBURN  DISTRICT. 

No  oil  or  gas  has  ever  been  developed  in  the  counties  comprising  this 
field  division  and  while  there  are  considerable  deposits  of  lignite  along 
the  western  boundaries  of  Amador  and  Placer  counties,  some  of  which 
have  been  productive  in  the  past,  the  year  1921  recorded  nothing  of 
interest  in  this  regard. 


SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT. 
COAL. 

Coal  occurs  in  greater  or  less  extent  in  twenty-three  counties  out  of 
the  twenty-eight  in  the  San  Francisco  Field  Division.  Back  in  the 
60  's  and  70 's  considerable  tonnages  of  this  fuel  were  placed  on  the 
market  from  mines  in  Contra  Costa  and  Alameda  counties  which  have 
lain  dormant  during  recent  years.  During  1921  John  Rosenf eld's  Sons, 
Merchants  Exchange  Building,  San  Francisco,  carried  on  some  pros- 
pect drilling  at  a  lignite  deposit  near  Dos  Rios  on  the  Middle  Eel  River 
in  Mendocino  County,  but  it  is  understood  that  the  results  obtained 
were  not  particularly  encouraging. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  recent  developments  as  regards  coal 
in  the  entire  state  is  the  rehabilitation  of  the  Stone  Canyon  mine,  and 
reconstruction  of  the  twenty-two  mile  railroad  from  that  property  to 
the  main  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  at  McKay,  Monterey  County. 

It  was  first  reported  in  July  that  this  mine  had  been  sold  to  eastern 
capitalists  for  $1,500,000. 

When  visited  by  a  representative  of  the  Bureau  in  September,  work 
was  found  to  be  actively  under  way  at  the  mine,  and  it  was  stated  that 
the  branch  railroad  would  be  ready  for  business  about  November  1. 


10  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

Mr.  John  II.  Leavell  is  president  and  general  manager  of  the  new 
company,  and  Mr.  Geo.  O'Brien  is  mine  superintendent.  Office  of  the 
company,  Stone  Canyon  P.O. 

Seventy-five  men  were  employed  in  cleaning  out  the  old  workings  and 
getting  things  in  shape  both  below  and  on  the  surface  for  a  campaign 
of  active  production. 

The  mine,  which  has  been  described  in  various  reports  of  this  office 
and  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  is  undoubtedly  the  largest 
deposit  of  coal  ever  discovered  in  California.  The  vein  easily  averages 
fifteen  feet  in  width,  and  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  between  fifteen 
and  twenty  million  tons  of  coal  in  sight.  The  working  shaft  is  three 
hundred  feet  deep,  and  the  seam  has  been  developed  by  a  winze  reaching 
an  additional  three  hundred  feet  in  depth.  Haulage  underground  and 
on  the  surface,  as  well  as  other  power  requirements,  are  by  electricity 
generated  in  the  company's  plant,  coal  from  the  mine  being  used  as  fuel. 

The  former  owners  of  the  Stone  Canyon  mine  expended  a  great  deal 
of  money  in  equipment  and  in  building  the  railroad  above  mentioned, 
but  the  road  was  washed  out  by  a  cloudburst  and  much  damage  was 
done  to  other  equipment  just  about  the  time  they  were  to  realize  some 
return  on  their  investment.  This  catastrophe  overtook  them  about  ten 
years  ago.  and  up  to  this  year  no  effort  has  been  made  to  resume  opera- 
tions on  a  large  scale. 

The  mine  bunkers  have  a  capacity  of  about  one  thousand  tons  of 
coal,  and  it  is  believed  by  the  company  that  a  daily  production  closely 
approaching  that  figure  will  be  possible  when  alterations  now  under 
way  have  been  completed.  It  is  hoped  to  begin  with  an  output  of  at 
least  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  per  day  as  soon  as  the  transportation 
facilities  are  ready  to  receive  shipments. 

NATURAL  GAS. 

The  bulk  of  the  natural  gas  production  of  California  comes  from  the 
counties  included  in  the  Bureau's  Los  Angeles  Field  Division;  however, 
considerable  amounts  of  this  fuel  occur  in  connection  with  petroleum 
in  the  Coalinga  field.  Fresno  County.  Practically  all  of  it  is  consumed 
locally,  either  for  lighting,  for  fuel  under  boilers  or  in  operating  gas 
engines.  Aside  from  the  above,  production  of  gas  in  the  San  Francisco 
district  is  unimportant,  being  principally  obtained  in  small  quantities 
and  used  for  domestic  purposes  at  Stockton  and  Sacramento,  as  well  as 
portions  of  Solano,  Mendocino,  Kings  and  Tulare  counties. 

PETROLEUM. 

Fresno  County  is  the  only  large  producer  of  crude  oil  in  this  district, 
and  that  production  is  all  obtained  from  the  single  field  situated  at 
Coalinga  in  the  western  portion  of  the  county.  The  only  other  localities 
which  have  ever  reported  a  commercial  output  are  near  Purissima  in 
San  Mateo  County  and  the  Moody  Gulch  and  Sargent  fields  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  in  all  of  which  districts  the  production  is  infinitesimal 
as  compared  with  the  total  for  the  entire  state. 

Wild-catting  has  been  prevailing  in  many  of  the  counties  throughout 
the  district,  although  results  of  these  activities  have  been  negative  in 
every  case  in  so  far  as  the  Bureau  is  informed.  According  to  a  survey 
completed  during  the  past  year  'possible'  oil  land  exists  in  limited 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  ]^ 

areas  in  Colusa,  Yolo,  Solano,  Marin,  Contra  Costa,  San  Mateo,  Santa 
Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  Monterey,  Stanislaus  and  Merced  counties.  'Possi- 
ble areas'  are  defined  as  all  land  on  which  there  is  the  slightest  indica- 
tion of  petroleum,  but  which  remains  improved  to  date. 

LOS  ANGELES  DISTRICT. 
PETROLEUM    AND    NATURAL   GAS. 

The  following  comprise  the  producing  oilfields  in  this  district : 

Devils  Den — Kings  and  Kern  counties. 

Lost  Hills — Kern  County. 

Belridge — Kern  County. 

McKittrick — Kern  County. 

Midway — Kern  County. 

Elk  Hills— Kern  County. 

Sunset — Kern  County. 

Kern  River — Kern  County. 

Arroyo  Grande — San  Luis  Obispo  County. 

Santa  Maria — Ventura  County. 

Ventura-Ojai — Ventura  County. 

Santa  Paula-Sespe — Ventura  County. 

Piru,  Simi,  Newhall— Ventura  County. 

Salt  Lake — Los  Angeles  County. 

Whittier-Fullerton — Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties. 

Huntington  Beach — Orange  County. 

Long  Beach — Los  Angeles  County. 

Approximately  85  per  cent  of  the  oil  and  close  to  100  per  cent  of  the 
natural  gas  produced  in  California  comes  from  the  above  fields,  and 
with  the  development  of  Huntington  Beach  and  Signal  Hill,  the  oil 
percentage  will  be  even  greater. 

Briefly,  the  outstanding  events  of  petroleum  development  for  1921  are 
as  follows: 

1.  Huntington  Beach  developed  into  a  field  of  prime  importance. 
Though  the  first  well  was  brought  in  as  a  producer  in  May,  1920,  at  the 
end  of  October,  1921,  this  field  had  59  producing  wells,  16  of  which, 
however,  were  idle.     The  total  daily  production  of  the  field  was  16,500 
barrels,  the  wells  producing  from  a  minimum  of  50  barrels  to  a  maxi- 
mum of  2000  barrels  daily. 

2.  Signal  Hill,  Long  Beach,  brought  in  its  first  producing  well  in 
June,  1921.     This  was  drilled  by  the  Shell  Company,  and  known  as 
Alamitos  No.  1,  producing  600  barrels  of  23-degree  gravity  oil.    Since 
then  other  wells  have  been  brought  into  production  and  the  future  of  the 
field  looks  bright. 

3.  In  the  Whittier-Fullerton  field,  at  Santa  Fe  Springs,  the  Union 
Oil  Company  brought  in  their  Bell  No.  1,  at  a  depth  of  3700  feet,  with 
a  production  of  over  2000  barrels  of  31-degree  gravity  oil.     As  a  result, 
the  productive  area  of  this  field  has  been  much  extended  and  drilling  is 
proceeding  at  a  feverish  pace. 

4.  Last  September  the  Chanslor-Canfield  Midway  Company  brought 
in  what  is  locally  known  as  the  'Santa  Fe'  well,  in  the  Redondo  field, 

3—16218 


12  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

at  a  depth  of  3035  feet.  The  well  has  been  deepened  to  3100  feet  and  in 
December  was  reported  as  flowing  at  an  increased  rate.  The  bringing 
in  of  this  well  indicates  the  opening  up  of  an  entirely  new  field. 

In  another  part  of  this  bulletin  will  be  found  a  detailed  review  of  the 
petroleum  industry  of  the  entire  state. 


METALS. 
REDDING  DISTRICT. 

Deposits  of  precious  and  base  metals  scattered  throughout  the  eight 
counties  constituting  the  Northern  California  Field  Division  have  been 
a  most  potent  factor  affecting  their  early  settlement  and  present  develop- 
ment. This  is  particularly  true  of  Shasta,  Siskiyou  and  Trinity  coun- 
ties. Lumbering,  stockraising  and  agriculture  share  the  honors  some- 
what in  Humboldt,  Del  Norte,  Tehama,  Lassen  and  Modoc  counties. 
The  district  as  a  whole  is  predominantly  a  metal  mining  area,  although 
in  the  five  counties  last  mentioned  the  value  of  structural  and  industrial 
minerals  occasionally  exceeds  that  of  the  metallic. 

The  principal  metals  mined  are  copper,  gold,  platinum,  silver  and 
zinc.  There  has  been  little  change  in  the  copper  situation  during  the 
year.  One  or  two  mines,  like  the  Blue  Ledge  in  Siskiyou  County,  which 
operated  during  1920,  added  their  names  to  'the  list  of  those  already 
closed  down,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  copper  production  for  this  year 
will  be  even  less  than  that  recorded  in  1920.  The  consensus  of  opinion 
seems  to  be  that  there  will  be  little  resumption  of  copper  mining  in  the 
United  States  before  the  middle  of  1922.  The  mines  of  this  district 
are  not  included  in  the  so-called  'low  cost'  group,  and  therefore  prob- 
ably face  at  least  another  year  of  inactivity,  unless  there  is  a  marked 
improvement  in  the  copper  market. 

The  producing  mines  of  Shasta  County,  the  premier  copper  county 
of  the  district,  are:  the  United  States  Smelting,  Refining  and  Mining 
Company  (Mammoth  Smelter  and  Mammoth,  Keystone  and  Sutro 
mines)  ;  First  National  Copper  Company  (Balaklala  mines)  ;  Mountain 
Copper  Company,  Limited  (Iron  Mountain  and  Hornet  mines)  ;  Pitts- 
burg  and  Mount  Shasta  Mining  Company  (Little  Nellie  mine)  ;  and 
the  Atascadero  Mining  Company  (Greenhorn  mine)  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Sacramento ;  and,  on  the  east  side,  the  Shasta  Zinc  and  Copper  Com- 
pany (Bully  Hill  and  Rising  Star  mines),  and  the  Afterthought  Mining 
Company  (Afterthought  mine)  at  Ingot. 

A  general  wage  reduction  was  made  in  the  copper  camps  on  Febru- 
ary 1.  Miners'  wages  were  cut  from  $5  to  $4.25  a  day;  muckers  from 
$4.50  to  $3.75 ;  carpenters  from  $7  to  $6,  and  plumbers  from  $8  to  $6.50. 
Mechanics  were  reduced  $1  per  day  and  other  labor  in  proportion. 

Three  companies,  the  Mammoth,  Mountain  Copper  and  Balaklala, 
asked  for  heavy  reductions  this  year  in  assessed  valuations  for  taxes,  the 
aggregate  reduction  requested  being  $1,089,304.  After  hearings,  the 
Mountain  Copper  Company  was  granted  a  reduction  of  $89,200  on  its 
Iron  Mountain  mine.  For  the  United  States  Smelting,  Refining  and 
Mining  Company,  the  Mammoth  group  was  reduced  from  $449,060  to 
$275,000  and  the  Sutro  from  $58,160  to  $40,000 ;  the  Keystone  remained 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  J£ 

unchanged  at  $32,000.  The  Mammoth 's  improvements  were  also  reduced 
$89,920.  The  assessed  valuation  of  the  Balaklala  mine  was  cut  from 
$262,160  to  $175,000. 

As  an  indication  of  comparative  activity  in  copper  mining  during  the 
past  six  years,  it  was  shown  at  the  hearings  that  the  number  of  men 
employed  by  the  United  States  Smelting,  Refining  and  Mining  Company 
was  as  follows: 

In  1915,  899  men;  1916,  1002  men;  1917,  1141  men;  1918,  643  men; 
1919,  506  men  for  five  months,  128  for  seven  months;  1920,  96  men; 
1921,  79  men  for  two  months,  16  men  for  balance,  mostly  watchmen. 

Judging  from  testimony  given  by  the  mine  managers,  it  appears  prob- 
able that  the  peak  of  copper  production  from  the  principal  developed 
mines  of  Shasta  County  has  been  passed,  and  that  the  record  production 
of  over  39,000,000  pounds  for  1916  may  not  again  be  reached,  regardless 
of  price. 

Outstanding  features  of  the  gold  mining  industry  during  1921  were 
the  comparative  improvement  in  Lassen  and  Modoc  counties,  particu- 
larly at  Hayden  Hill;  increased  activity  in  quartz  mining  in  Siskiyou 
County,  notably  in  the  Salmon  River  district  and  near  Callahan ;  capital 
investments  and  the  reopening  of  a  number  of  properties  in  Shasta 
County,  in  the  French  Gulch  district;  and  the  fairly  steady  production 
from  the  mines  and  dredges  of  Trinity  County.  Dredge  operations  in 
both  Trinity  and  Shasta  counties  have  remained  nearer  normal  during 
the  depression  than  any  other  form  of  gold  mining.  One  new  dredge  is 
in  course  of  construction  in  Trinity  County  and  several  possible  dredg- 
ing areas  in  Shasta  and  Siskiyou  counties  have  been  under  investigation. 
The  outlook  for  1922  for  this  form  of  exploitation  is  good. 

Hydraulic  and  placer  mining,  mainly  confined  to  the  drainage  basins 
of  the  Klamath  and  Trinity  rivers,  shows  little  sign  of  improvement 
and  there  appears  to  be  a  strong  trend  toward  quartz  prospecting  and 
quartz  mining  even  in  the  heart  of  the  alluvial  mining  area. 

Lode  mining  gained  impetus  during  the  current  year  and  more 
activity  is  looked  for  in  1922  than  for  the  past  five  years. 

The  platinum  group  metals,  which  includes  platinum,  iridium,  osmium 
and  palladium,  are  produced  mainly  by  the  gold  dredges  in  Shasta  and 
Trinity  counties.  The  high  price  of  these  metals  in  1920  and  the  early 
part  of  1921,  however,  stimulated  platinum  prospecting,  and  a  number 
of  individuals  began  producing.  The  principal  'diggings'  were  along 
Beegum  Creek  on  the  Shasta-Tehama  county  line,  and  on  the  lower 
South  Fork  of  the  Trinity  River  near  Hyampom.  The  native  metal  in 
Beegum  Creek  assays  from  13  per  cent  to  20  per  cent  platinum,  and  75 
per  cent  to  85  per  cent  osmiridium,  and  the  high  price  of  iridium  made 
it  possible,  for  a  time,  for  some  individuals  to  realize  as  much  as  $20  a 
day.  There  is  a  probability  of  machinery  being  put  on  Beegum 
Creek  next  year  to  handle  the  ground,  and  the  production  from  this 
source  will  probably  increase  in  1922,  although  lower  prices  during  the 
latter  part  of  1921  may  discourage  those  who  hold  the  poorer  ground. 
The  production  for  the  year  as  a  whole,  from  both  dredges  and  individ- 
uals, should  equal  or  slightly  exceed  that  for  1920. 

The  production  of  silver  as  a  by-product  from  the  copper  smelters 
will  be  negligible,  but  due  to  the  stabilized  price  of  silver  under  the 
Pitman  Act  a  number  of  properties  in  the  South  Fork  district  of  Shasta 


14  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

County,   where  the  lodes  are  primarily  silver  producing,   are  being 
developed  and  there  has  been  a  small  production. 

Zinc  has  replaced  copper  and  assumed  the  major  role  in  the  metal 
production  of  the  east  belt  with  the  completion  of  the  new  smelter  of  the 
Shasta  Zinc  and  Copper  Company  at  Winthrop.  Metallic  zinc  is  not 
produced,  but  a  high-grade  zinc  oxide  is  obtained  direct  from  the  ore  by 
the  volatilization  process  employed,  and  the  accompanying  copper,  silver 
and  gold  are  recovered  as  by-products. 

COPPER. 

A  number  of  copper  prospects  are  being  developed  in  Lassen  County, 
among  them  the  Red  Rock  mine,  owned  by  Ben  F.  Logan  of  "West wood, 
and  the  Cooper  Hill  Copper  Mining  Company 's  property.  A  good  road 
has  been  built  to  the  latter,  and  camp  boarding  house,  bunk  house  and 
other  buildings  erected.  Native  copper,  oxides  and  sulphides  are  dis- 
seminated in  diorite  over  an  area  1400x4000  feet.  The  main  adit  is 
in  90  feet. 

In  the  Diamond  Mountain  district,  near  Susanville,  the  Diamond 
Mountain  Gold  Copper  Mining  Company  is  developing  the  Victoria 
group  of  thirty-one  claims.  The  deposit  comprises  a  mineralized  zone, 
marked  by  a  heavy  gossan,  in  quartz-hornblende-diorite.  This  deposit 
is  about  seven  miles  in  an  air  line  from  the  Engels  Copper  Mine  in 
Plumas  County. 

The  Corona  Copper  group,  south  of  Honey  Lake,  in  T.  26  N.,  R.  15  E., 
near  the  L.  G.  Stiles  ranch,  is  another  prospect  on  which  considerable 
work  has  been  done. 

AY.  A.  Miller  of  Fort  Bidwell,  Modoc  Count}',  owner  of  the  Copper 
Blossom  group  of  seven  claims  in  the  Warner  Range,  is  developing. 
There  is  a  dike  on  the  property  carrying  azurite,  malachite  and  native 
copper,  in  which  he  has  a  400-foot  tunnel  and  80-foot  shaft. 

The  Seitz,  or  Valley  View  group,  on  which  assessment  work  is  being 
done,  adjoins. 

One  of  the  new  prospects  in  Shkiyou  County  is  the  Liberty  Bond 
group  of  eleven  claims  in  the  Happy  Camp  district,  owned  by  F.  B. 
McCann  of  Happy  Camp.  A  ledge,  in  schist  near  a  limestone  contact, 
has  been  crosscut  for  sixty  feet  without  reaching  the  wall.  Assays  are 
said  to  run  1  to  1|  per  cent  copper  and  about  $7  in  gold.  Water  power 
could  be  developed  on  Indian  Creek. 

Barnum  Brothers  are  driving  a  tunnel  on  their  copper  prospect  on  the 
Klamath  River  just  below  Oak  Bar.  Air  drills  are  used.  The  tunnel 
face  is  in  200  feet. 

The  Grey  Eagle  mine  near  Happy  Camp,  owned  by  the  Mason  Valley 
Mines  Company  of  Nevada,  has  remained  shut  down.  There  are  about 
one  million  tons  of  copper  ore  developed.  Some  prospecting  was  carried 
on  by  the  company  this  year  at  a  new  deposit  on  Dillon  Creek  thirty 
miles  southwest  of  Happy  Camp. 

The  Blue  Ledge  mine  in  Siskiyou  County  was  one  of  the  last  copper 
producers  of  the  Northern  California  field  to  quit,  it  having  continued 
to  operate  and  ship  until  June,  1921.  The  building  of  their  proposed 
power  plant  has  been  indefinitely  postponed. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  J5 

Copper  prospects  in  Humboldt,  Trinity  and  Shasta  counties  are 
generally  dormant,  but  a  thoroughly  justified  feeling  exists  that  'copper 
will  come  back'  in  due  time. 

The  Mountain  Copper  Company  drew  its  pumps  from  the  Iron  Moun- 
tain mine  in  March  and  closed  this  property  for  an  indefinite  period, 
transferring  their  headquarters  to  the  Hornet  mine.  A  little  copper 
will  be  obtained  from  the  mine  water  by  precipitation.  Shipments  of 
pyritic  ore  from  the  Hornet  have  been  curtailed,  due  to  lessened  demand. 
The  company  has  nearly  completed  an  aerial  tram  13,329  feet  in  length 
with  a  drop  of  1365  feet  between  terminals,  to  connect  the  Hornet  mine 
with  a  new  station,  Mathewson,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  When 
this  is  completed  the  Iron  Mountain  Railroad  will  be  abandoned. 
Trucks  will  transport  such  material  as  cannot  be  handled  by  the  cable. 

The  Balaklala  has  been  idle  since  the  Mammoth  smelter  ceased  opera- 
tions. There  is  a  large  tonnage  of  ore  blocked  out.  During  the  year 
the  tramway  from  Coram  to  the  mine  was  repaired  and  1300  bales  of 
scrap  tin  were  transported  from  the  railroad  to  the  precipitation  tanks, 
where  cement  copper,  averaging  about  30  per  cent  copper,  is  obtained 
from  the  mine  water. 

Twelve  men  were  working  at  the  Pittsburg  and  Mount  Shasta  Com- 
pany's property  early  in  1921,  but  all  work  was  suspended  the  last  half- 
year. 

The  Atascadero  Mining  Company  made  a  final  payment  of  $50,000 
on  the  Greenhorn  mine  near  Tower  House  and  also  purchased  the  adjoin- 
ing Great  Western  Copper  and  Gold  group  during  the  past  year.  The 
mine  was  idle. 

On  the  east  belt,  construction  of  the  Shasta  Zinc  and  Copper  Com- 
pany's new  reduction  plant  was  completed  in  June,  and  production  of 
copper  matte  and  zinc  oxide  commenced.  The  plant  consists  essentially 
of  roasters,  storage  bin,  cooling  system,  reverberatory  furnace  and  bag 
house.  After  about  six  weeks  run  it  was  temporarily  shut  down,  as  the 
zinc  oxide  produced  was  not  quite  pure  enough  or  white  enough  to  meet 
the  market  requirements,  and  it  \vas  found  that  a  refining  plant  would 
have  to  be  added.  This  is  under  construction.  The  smelter  produces 
about  thirty  tons  of  zinc  oxide  a  day,  with  copper  matte,  containing 
some  gold  and  silver  values,  as  a  by-product.  The  zinc-copper-silver- 
gold  ore  comes  from  their  Rising  Star  mine,  where  an  immense  tonnage 
is  blocked  out. 

The  Afterthought  mine  at  Ingot  has  remained  closed  down.  The  ore 
at  this  mine  contains  from  14  per  cent  to  18  per  cent  of  zinc,  about  3  per 
cent  copper,  and  small  amounts  of  gold  and  silver.  Since  the  drop  in 
copper  prices,  it  has  been  impossible  to  operate  at  a  profit  without  saving 
the  zinc  values.  A  flotation  plant,  designed  to  save  the  several  metals, 
proved  a  failure,  and  until  a  successful  process  is  found  no  effort  to 
produce  will  be  made. 

In  January,  after  about  three  months  work,  drilling  at  the  Shasta  May 
Blossom  group  wras  stopped.  It  was  reported  that  170  feet  was  the 
greatest  depth  reached. 

GOLD. 

At  Hayden  Hill  the  Daisy  Dean  mine  is  being  opened  up  by  H.  C. 
Watson  of  Hayward,  California.  Work  was  also  begun  at  the  Blue  Bell, 
La  Ora  and  other  properties  toward  the  latter  part  of  the  year.  The 


Jg  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

Juniper  mine,  which  was  taken  over  by  the  present  company  in  1918, 
has  been  opened  to  a  depth  of  387  feet,  where  the  ore  body  is  thirty  or 
more  feet  in  width,  with  very  rich  streaks  in  places.  The  gold  is  fine 
and  free,  and  is  not  a  constituent  of  the  rock,  but  is  found  in  the  fine, 
clay-like  and  sandy  portions  of  the  consolidated  rock  breccia  which  com- 
poses the  vein.  The  property  is  equipped  with  a  10-stamp  mill  and 
cyanide  plant.  In  March  the  mill  was  shut  down  for  alterations.  A 
trommel  with  1-inch  holes  and  containing  a  series  of  seven  or  eight 
high-pressure  adjustable  washing  sprays,  was  introduced  between  the 
mill  ore-bin  and  stamps,  and  all  material  which  does  not  pass  through 
the  1-inch  holes  is  sent  direct  to  the  dump.  By  discarding  the  coarse 
rock,  after  washing,  the  mill  capacity  has  been  greatly  increased. 
Plates  and  carpets  follow  the  stamps,  and  if  desired  the  pulp  is  then 
sent  to  the  cyanide  plant.  Five  men  are  employed  in  the  mine,  and 
three  in  the  mill. 

In  Modoc  County,  two  properties  were  under  development  in  the  old 
camp  of  High  Grade.  At  the  Mountain  Sheep  mine  a  shaft  is  being  put 
down  by  Broaddus  and  Reynolds  of  New  Pine  Creek,  Oregon,  and 
arrangements  were  under  way  to  move  the  hoisting  plant  of  the  Big 
Four  to  the  Mountain  Sheep. 

Maupin  and  Mathews  of  Fort  Bidwell,  owners  of  the  Fort  Bidwell 
Consolidated  mine,  are  working  three  men.  The  lower  tunnel  is  in  450 
feet.  It  parallels  a  vein  from  which  assays  of  from  $12  to  $52  have 
been  obtained. 

There  was  no  activity  in  the  Winters  district. 

Along  the  Klamath  River  from  Hornbrook  to  the  end  of  the  road,  now 
reaching  20  miles  below  Happy  Camp,  there  was  very  little  interest 
taken  in  gold  mining,  either  placer  or  lode. 

Charles  Benback,  owner  of  the  McCook  placer  on  Humbug  Creek,  is 
working  alone.  The  McCook  was  a  small  producer  in  1919  and  1920.  A 
little  ore  has  also  been  worked  by  other  parties  in  arrastras  along  this 
and  Keeler  Gulch. 

R«>  T.  Hooper  of  San  Francisco  was  prospecting  the  old  Snowball 
placer  mine,  six  miles  below  Oak  Bar,  with  a  view  to  working  it.  Far- 
ther down  near  Scotts  Bar  the  Quartz  Hill  mine  was  idle.  They  will 
change  the  location  of  their  workings.  It  is  operated  in  the  winter  only, 
on  account  of  lack  of  water. 

The  Roxbury  mine  has  been  leased  to  Hammer  Brothers  and  is  under 
the  management  of  J.  Milne.  It  is  shut  down.  One  man  is  working 
on  the  ditches.  The  company  was  drilling  ground  at  Seiad  Flat  in  1920, 
but  they  did  not  complete  the  work. 

The  Mary  Alma  claim,  owned  by  Carl  T.  Frey  of  Seiad,  was  being 
prospected  by  F.  A.  Sennet.  It  is  a  low  bar  worked  to  water  level  in 
the  early  days. 

The  Portuguese  mine,  owned  by  Henry  Wood,  is  idle. 

Wood  Brothers,  lessees  of  the  Siskiyou  Mines  Company  property, 
worked  a  little  last  winter,  and  the  Davis  hydraulic  mine  worked  three 
to  four  men  for  five  months. 

W.  G.  Brown  of  Happy  Camp,  owner  of  the  New  Era,  did  assessment 
work.  There  are  480  acres  of  bench  gravels  in  his  holdings  with  ditches 
and  giants. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  ]J 

Conditions  at  the  hydraulic  and  placer  mines  along  the  Salmon  River 
and  its  tributaries  are  little  better. 

The  William  Burns  mine,  near  Sawyers  Bar,  was  worked  the  past 
winter  in  a  small  way. 

E.  Curran,  owner  of  the  Whistle  Bar  mine,  is  constructing  a  4000- 
foot  flume  from  the  North  Fork  of  Salmon  River,  and  expects  to  start 
work,  October  1.  There  is  800  feet  of  old  channel  left.  A.  Jacquemart 
of  San  Francisco,  is  testing  ground  six  miles  below  Sawyers  Bar  with 
intention  of  hydraulicking. 

The  Forks  of  Salmon  River,  the  largest  hydraulic  mine  in  this  district, 
has  been  idle  since  April.  Work  was  started  by  the  company  in  1917, 
and  continued  until  December  1920,  when  it  was  leased  to  E.  T.  Atkin 
who  operated  until  April  1921.  Freezing  weather  prevents  work  for 
from  one  month  to  six  weeks  in  December  and  January. 

There  are  no  active  mines  at  Forks  of  Salmon.  The  Bennett  Com- 
pany, which  operated  four  mines  up  to  1918,  shut  down  all  work  at  that 
time. 

Lorenz  Bros,  mine  in  Trinity  County  is  the  principal  active  hydraulic 
property  in  that  county,  and  it  will  probably  rank  first  in  the  Northern 
field  in  size  of  operations  this  year.  A  few;  small  placers  on  Coffee 
Creek  will  add  their  quota  to  the  county's  output. 

Most  of  the  quartz  properties  reached  from  the  Klamath  River  road 
are  idle. 

At  the  Nigger  Boy,  five  miles  southwest  of  Hornbrook,  A.  D.  McCul- 
lough,  who  holds  an  option  to  purchase  a  three-quarter  interest,  was 
running  a  tunnel  200  feet  below  the  lowest  old  workings,  to  cut  the 
ledge.  This  tunnel  was  in  220  feet  and  machinery  for  air  drilling  was 
being  installed.  Four  men  are  employed. 

Several  thousand  dollars  were  expended  on  development  at  the  Pilot 
Knob,  three  miles  north  of  Gottville  in  1920,  but  it  was  idle  in  1921. 

In  the  Oro  Fino,  Quartz  Valley  and  Callahan  districts,  surrounding 
Scott  Valley,  there  are  signs  of  a  revival  in  quartz  mining. 

The  Mohegan,  in  Quartz  Valley,  is  under  lease  to  Kirk  et  al.,  and  four 
men  are  working. 

The  Oro  Grande  or  McKeen  mine  in  the  Callahan  district,  which  was 
closed  down  in  1916,  was  taken  under  lease  by  F.  W.  Roueche  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  on  August  15  and  a  small  crew  of  men  are  cleaning  it  out 
preparatory  to  operating.  It  is  well  equipped  with  camp  accomoda- 
tions  for  fifty  men,  machinery,  mill,  etc.  There  are  several  miles  of 
workings. 

The  Chapman  mine  has  been  acquired  by  the  Metals  Mining  Corpora- 
tion. A  good  road  has  been  built  to  the  property,  camp  buildings 
erected  and  a  well  equipped  shop,  laboratory  and  assay  office  erected. 
Ten  men  have  been  employed  on  development  work  since  March. 

The  owners  of  the  Porphyry  Dike  mine  are  putting  a  small  ball  mill 
on  their  property. 

In  the  Salmon  River  country  lode  mining  has  picked  up,  and  a 
number  of  properties  are  working  on  a  small  scale. 

The  Siskiyou  Syndicate  is  opening  up  the  Cub  Bear  mine,  and  at  the 
Highland  mine  near  by,  five  men  are  employed. 

The  Gilta  on  Knownothing  Creek,  is  b^'ng  operated  by  Headland  and 
Silva. 


jg  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

D.  Malloy  owner  of  the  Malloy  mine,  is  working  alone.  There  is  a 
good  three-stamp  mill  on  this  property. 

NVilan  and  Putnam  are  operating  a  property  on  Counts  Gulch. 

There  is  a  little  work  going  on  at  the  Black  Bear,  and  ore  from  the 
dumps  is  being  milled. 

The  California  Consolidated  or  Golden  Ball  mine  has  been  taken 
under  lease  and  bond  by  F.  A.  Cowing  and  a  new  ten-stamp  mill  is 
being  erected.  Water  power  will  be  used.  Fifteen  men  are  employed. 
Some  excellent  ore  has  been  opened  up. 

Gold  production  has  shown  less  fluctuation  in  Trinity  than  in  most 
of  the  other  counties. 

Throe  dredges,  the  one  of  the  Valdor  Dredging  Company  below 
Junction  City,  that  of  the  Trinity  Gold  Dredging  Company  above  Lewis- 
ton,  and  that  of  the  Pacific  Gold  Dredging  Company  at  Carrville,  have 
remained  in  steady  operation.  The  large  dredge  of  the  Estabrook  Gold 
Dredging  Company  at  Trinity  Center  which  was  shut  down  in  October, 
1020,  was  not  operated  in  1921,  but  preparations  are  being  made  to 
again  place  it  in  commission  the  coming  spring. 

L.  Gardella  of  Oroville  and  Redding,  began  construction  of  a  new 
dredge  in  June.  It  is  located  on  the  Trinity  River  two  miles  below 
Lewiston  on  the  Paulson  ranch,  which  was  acquired  for  dredging  pur- 
poses. Digging  will  begin  early  in  1922. 

The  Bonanza  King,  Enterprise,  Fairview,  Five  Pines,  Van  Ness  and 
several  smaller  lode  mines  have  been  in  fairly  active  operation.  Short- 
age of  water  for  power  has  caused  some  lass  of  time. 

The  Midas  mine  at  Harrison  Gulch  is  idle.  A  good  size  vein  has  been 
developed  at  Layman  Bros,  mine  near  Hayfork  and  a  new  five-stamp 
mill  was  completed  in  November. 

In  the  New  River  country  the  Index  mine  near  Denny,  is  being 
opened  up  and  equipped  with  air  drills,  a  six-stamp  mill  and  other 
machinery.  There  have  also  been  a  few  small  placer  operations  in  the 
New  River  section.  It  is  reached  by  trail  only. 

An  option  and  bond  was  taken  on  the  Golden  Jubilee  mine  near  Carr- 
ville in  May  and  the  Coffee  Creek  Mining  Company  organized  to  operate 
same.  This  company  is  also  negotiating  for  the  purchase  of  the  Cleve- 
land mine  in  the  Bully  Choop  district. 

Actual  production  of  gold  in  Shasta  Count}'  in  1921  will  come  largely 
from  dredge  operations,  but  quartz  mining  promises  to  furnish  a  larger 
proportion  in  1922  than  for  some  time  past.  The  final  time  for  comple- 
tion of  the  1920  assessment  work  was  extended  to  July  1,  1921,  and  this 
work  enlivened  all  the  old  districts. 

In  addition,  development  was  resumed  at  the  Central  in  the  old 
Diggings  district.  The  Reid  mine,  also  in  this  district,  was  examined  in 
October,  by  engineers  representing  the  Tonopah  Mining  Company  of 
Nevada,  and  arrangements  made  for  unwatering  and  complete  sampling. 

The  first  stamps  to  drop  in  the  county  since  the  general  closing  of  the 
mines  during  the  war,  were  those  of  a  two-stamp  mill  at  Buckeye  where 
two  men  are  working  a  seam. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Whiskeytown  (Stella),  Shasta,  and  Middletown, 
new  claims  have  been  located  and  old  ones  are  again  being  developed. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  19 

The  principal  activity,  however,  is  in  the  French  Gulch  district. 
Harry  Thompson  has  opened  up  the  old  Niagara  and  is  taking  out  good 
ore.  Stamps  began  dropping  in  September.  Thos.  Salsbury  has  a 
lease  on  the  Washington  and  it  is  again  being  worked.  The  Milkmaid 
is  being  operated  by  Capt.  H.  E.  Smith. 

The  most  important  development  is  the  reopening  of  the  famous 
Gladstone  mine,  that  has  been  idle  since  1915.  The  mine  was  examined 
in  July  by  Fred  Searles,  representing  Montana  and  Idaho  capital.  It 
was  taken  over  in  August,  the  operating  company  being  known  as  the 
French  Gulch  Gold  Mining  Company,  Hamilton  Eddy  superintendent. 
A  crew  of  twenty  men  are  at  work,  and  7000  or  8000  feet  of  tunnels 
and  old  workings  have  been  put  in  shape  so  that  production  can  start. 
The  same  interests  that  have  acquired  the  Gladstone  are  operating  the 
Tightner  mine  in  Sierra  County,  another  famous  producer. 

Sniping  is  still  practiced  in  the  creeks  and  gulches  in  the  winter 
season  and  mention  should  be  made  of  a  remarkable  find  in  Shasta 
County  in  February  of  this  year  when  Joseph  Miller  and  John  Stein 
picked  up  a  nugget  in  Motion  Creek,  with  a  little  quartz  attached,  that 
weighed  21  pound  avoirdupois.  It  netted  the  owners  $3,419.27  at  the 
mint. 

A  substantial  bonus  could  have  been  obtained  at  a  private  sale  and  the 
nugget  preserved  for  exhibition  purposes,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
this  was  not  done.  The  largest  nugget  ever  found  in  the  county  was 
the  Jarrard,  picked  up  on  Flat  Creek  in  1870.  It  weighed  34  pounds. 

IRON  ORE. 

The  Noble  Electric  Steel  Company,  Heroult,  Shasta  County,  continued 
to  supply  high-grade  magnetite  carrying  65  per  cent  to  70  per  cent  iron 
to  San  Francisco  Bay  points  and  Los  Angeles  during  1921,  this  making 
their  twelfth  year  of  active  operation.  In  1920,  besides  their  smaller 
regular  shipments  to  foundries,  this  company  furnished  about  1500 
tons  of  ore  which  entered  into  the  fabrication  of  the  steel  towers  for 
the  power  line  from  Pit  River  to  Cotton  wood,  to  the  Pacific  Coast  Steel 
Company.  They  also  shipped  ten  cars  to  the  Washington  Magnesite 
Company,  Chewelah,  Washington,  where  the  ore  was  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  magnesite  brick.  Production  for  the  current  year  will 
be  somewhat  less  than  in  1920.  This  is  the  largest  active  producing 
iron  mine  in  the  state. 

LEAD. 

The  production  of  lead  in  1921  will  probably  be  very  small.  A  few 
lots  of  silver-lead  ore  were  shipped  from  the  White  Star  mine,  South 
Fork  district  near  Igo,  Shasta  County,  to  the  Selby  Smelting  and  Lead 
Company,  during  the  year. 

MOLYBDENUM. 

Deposits  of  molybdenite  are  known  in  Shasta  and  Trinity  counties, 
but  they  have  not  been  exploited.  The  Monarch  mine,  owned  by  R.  H. 
Bailey,  is  a  recent  discovery,  located  on  the  headwaters  of  Willow  Creek 
and  Stuarts  Fork  of  Trinity  River  near  the  Siskiyou-Trinity  County 
line.  Molybdenite  and  molybdite  carrying  high  gold  and  silver  values 
occur  in  a  vein  said  to  be  10  feet  in  width. 

4—16218 


9Q  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

PLATINUM. 

J.  J.  Turner,  of  Oakland,  has  recently  taken  up  claims  on  the  Hay- 
fork of  Trinity  River,  above  Wildwood,  and  three  men  are  at  work. 
There  is  a  good  sized  area  here  that  can  be  worked  on  a  large  scale  if 
the  ground  justifies  it. 

Among  the  individuals  actively  engaged  in  mining  are : 

Shasta  County —  Post  office  Stream 

Lee  Brown Platina  Beegrum  Creek. 

Lee  Johnson Platina Beegum  Creek. 

Mike  Malone Platina  Beeprum  Creek. 

Charles  Gresham Platina  Beeprum  Creek. 

Louis  Somers Platina  Beegum  Creek. 

William  Hitchcock Platina  Bee^um  Creek. 

D.  F.  Wood   Platina  Beegum  Creek. 

E.  Duval Platina  Beegum  Creek. 

Trinity   County — 

Lynch  Bros. Hyampom South  Fork  of  Trinity  River. 

James  B.  Murphy Forest  Glen Rattlesnake  Creek. 

S.   Daniels   Forest  Glen Rattlesnake  Creek. 

C.  C.  Cooper Douglas  City Browns  Creek. 

Charles   Bennett Douglas  City Browns  Creek. 

QUICKSILVER. 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  quicksilver  will  be  produced  in  this  district 
the  current  year,  but  development  work  is  being  carried  on  at  several 
of  the  mines. 

The  Goose  Lake  Gold  Mining  Company  is  opening  up  a  quicksilver 
deposit  in  Modoc  County  three  miles  east  of  Willow  ranch.  The  ore- 
body  is  large  and  low-grade  as  a  whole,  but  it  contains  rich  streaks  of 
cinnabar. 

Four  men  were  employed  at  the  Great  Northern  (formerly  the  Herzog 
and  Morgan)  mine,  in  Siskiyou  County,  from  September,  1920,  to 
February,  1921,  and  200  tons  of  ore  were  taken  out.  The  mine  is 
equipped  with  two  D  retorts  of  800  pounds  capacity  each,  but  produc- 
tion will  not  be  started  under  present  market  conditions. 

SILVER. 

The  Igo  Consolidated  Mining  Company,  which  was  organized  in  1920 
and  took  over  the  Big  Dyke  Silver  mine,  adjoining  the  Chicago  and 
Silver  Falls  in  the  South  Fork  district,  Shasta  County,  discontinued 
work  in  1921. 

W.  W.  Robinson  has  a  crew  of  men  working  at  the  Climax  mine  in 
the  South  Fork  district,  where  a  500-foot  shaft  is  being  put  down. 

Development  work  was  carried  on  at  the  Chicago  and  Silver  Falls 
mine,  by  F.  M.  Archer,  owner,  until  June,  when  it  was  bonded  to 
Edmund  Jussen  et  al.,  of  San  Francisco.  An  air  compressor  and  other 
machinery  was  installed  and  camp  accommodations  for  a  large  crew 
provided.  Ten  to  twelve  men  were  employed  and  the  workings  were 
advanced  130  feet,  opening  up  some  additional  good  ore.  Owing  to  a 
disagreement,  however,  the  bond  was  forfeited  and  the  crew  laid  off  in 
September.  The  owner  has  continued  development  on  a  reduced  scale 
and  exposed  some  very  hisrh-grade  ore  in  the  Buckley  tunnel.  The  main 
adit  is  over  3000  feet  in  length. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  21 

The  White  Star,  also  in  this  district,  is  shipping  an  occasional  lot  of 
high-grade  silver-lead  ore  to  the  Selby  Smelting  and  Lead  Company. 

The  Ballon  and  Continental  mines  are  also  being  developed.  The 
prospect  for  continued  activity  in  the  silver  mines  of  this  district  is 
bright. 

ZINC. 

There  is  at  present  no  production  of  spelter,  or  zinc  concentrates  in 
the  district.  The  Shasta  Zinc  and  Copper  Company  is  the  only  company 
mining  zinc  ores,  and  these  contain  copper,  silver  and  gold  as  well. 
After  roasting,  the  ore  is  smelted  in  a  reverberatory  furnace  with  the 
addition  of  powdered  coal,  and  the  zinc  removed  by  volatilization.  The 
volatilized  zinc  is  oxidized  in  the  furnace  flues  and  recovered  and  mar- 
keted as  zinc  oxide.  The  other  metals  in  the  charge  are  recovered  in 
the  usual  way  in  the  copper  matte. 

The  successful  operation  of  this  process  marks  an  important  step  in 
the  metallurgy  of  the  so-called  'complex'  ores  of  the  east  belt. 

AUBURN  DISTRICT. 

This  district  is  preeminent  because  of  its  gold  mines.  Copper  is  next 
in  importance,  with  a  great  variety  of  industrial  and  structural  minerals 
as  yet  only  partially  prospected  or  exploited. 

While  a  somewhat  improved  tone  has  been  noted  in  the  copper  market 
during  the  closing  months  of  1921,  there  has  not  been  sufficient  improve- 
ment in  price  to  aid  the  small  producer,  whose  costs  are  high.  Most  of 
the  small  mines  and  prospects  described  in  the  Seventeenth  Report  of 
the  State  Mineralogist  have  made  little  progress  during  the  year  and 
many  of  them  are  at  present  closed.  Plumas  County  now  leads  the 
rest  of  the  state  in  copper  production,  and  is  at  present  making  most  of 
the  state's  output  of  that  metal. 

Gold  mining  is  slowly  recovering  after  several  years  depression. 
This  is  noticeable  especially  in  quartz  mining  on  the  Mother  Lode  and 
in  drift  mining  in  the  mountains.  The  year  has  been  marked  by 
resumption  of  \vork  in  the  Argonaut,  Kennedy,  Fremont  and  Moore 
mines  on  the  Mother  Lode  in  Amador  County;  in  the  Clio,  Harriman 
and  Patterson  mines  on  the  same  lode  in  Tuolumne  County,  and  the 
prospecting  of  many  smaller  properties.  With  operating  costs  again 
approaching  a  point  where  the  ores  common  to  the  Mother  Lode  are 
payable,  it  is  only  natural  that  interest  in  the  possibilities  of  this  great 
vein  system  should  be  increasing.  With  present  or  past  producers  with 
records  of  millions  of  dollars  in  each  county  along  its  course,  it  is  still 
true  that  there  are  sections  of  this  lode  that  have  never  been  adequately 
prospected  at  depth.  This  is  coming  to  be  realized  more  clearly  as  we 
consider  the  recent  successes  in  those  Mother  Lode  mines  that  have 
reached  depths  of  from  3000  to  4000  feet.  Climate,  elevation,  accessi- 
bility, labor  and  power  supply  are  favorable  for  year  round  operation 
all  along  this  lode. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  main  Mother  Lode  are  the  opportunities 
offered  by  the  East  Belt,  a  system  of  true  fissure  veins  extending  nearly 
parallel  to  that  lode  but  at  distances  of  from  eight  to  fifteen  miles  east 


22  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

of  it.  These  veins  traverse  the  mica  schist  of  the  Calaveras  formation 
and  the  granodiorite.  This  belt  passes  by  Tuohimne,  Soulsbyville, 
Sheep  Ranch,  West  Point  and  northward,  and  is  marked  at  frequent 
intervals  by  many  mines  that  have  yielded  a  million  dollars  or  more 
each,  though  worked  as  yet  to  only  comparatively  shallow  depths. 
There  has  been  a,  resumption  of  work  this  year  along  the  entire  East 
Belt,  with  optimistic  reports  coming  from  several  old  properties  that 
have  been  reopened,  and  from  many  small  mines  and  prospects. 

Operations  at  Grass  Valley  have  expanded  during  the  year  as  the 
result  of  improved  operating  conditions  and  lower  costs.  The  wage 
question  has  been  settled  again  for  the  time  being.  Miners  now  receive 
$4.25  and  muckers  $3.75  a  shift. 

Prospecting  for  buried  gravel  channels  on  the  upper  Forest  Hill 
Divide,  and  eastward  to  the  Ralston  Divide,  in  Placer  County,  has  been 
active.  Work  of  the  same  nature  has  been  going  on  at  Willow  Valley 
and  just  north  of  Nevada  City  in  Nevada  County.  The  Mugwump 
mine  just  south  of  Forest  in  Sierra  County  has  been  producing  during 
the  last  half  of  the  year,  and  the  usual  seasonal  work  has  been  done 
elsewhere  in  Sierra  County.  Considerable  interest  has  been  roused  by 
the  year's  developments  in  the  Table  Rock  mine  in  Sierra  County  and 
in  the  small  gravel  mines  lately  opened  at  the  upper  end  of  Little  Grass 
Valley  in  Plumas  County,  nine  and  a  half  miles  north  of  La  Porte. 

Except  at  Grass  Valley,  little  gold  production  has  been  made  during 
the  year  in  the  quartz  mines  off  the  commonly  recognized  course  of  the 
Mother  Lode  and  East  Belt.  While  many  meritorious  properties  lie  in 
P^l  Dorado,  Placer,  Yuba,  Butte  and  Plumas  counties,  they  are  more  or 
less  scattered  and  have  not  attracted  the  attention  that  comes  to  those 
mines  and  prospects  that  lie  near  larger  producing  properties.  The 
result  is  a  slower  resumption  of  work  in  these  outlying  districts. 
Numerous  prospects  and  small  mines  have  nevertheless  been  unwatered 
or  prospected  during  the  year,  notably  near  Greenwood  in  El  Dorado 
County,  near  Towle  in  Placer  County,  near  Forbestown  in  Butte 
County,  Clipper  Mills  in  Yuba  County  and  at  Crescent  Mills  in  Plumas 
County. 

The  dredgers  operated  on  Yuba  River  by  three  large  companies  still 
keep  Yuba  County  in  the  lead  as  a  gold  producing  county,  but  with 
resumption  of  operations  by  the  deep  mines  of  Amador  County,  the 
latter  should  soon  displace  Yuba. 

The  outlook  for  next  year  is  encouraging,  especially  as  regards  quartz 
mining.  Labor  and  material  costs  are  going  down  and  labor  is  more 
plentiful  and  efficient,  due  to  the  return  of  experienced  miners  from 
other  occupations.-  Another  happy  omen  for  the  gold  mines  is  the  fall- 
ing off  of  the  speculative  real  estate  and  oil  stock  booms.  There  is 
already  an  indication  that  attention  lately  given  to  profit  taking  in 
these  is  turning  to  the  mines.  It  is  believed  that  1922  will  witness  a 
steady  expansion  of  gold  mining. 

The  outlook  for  fhe  copper  mines  is  less  definite,  but  if  the  price  of 
copper  goes  a  few  cents  higher,  some  of  the  larger  mines  in  Calaveras 
and  Plumas  counties  ought  to  be  able  to  resume  work. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  23 

COPPER. 

Little  field  work  was  done  among  the  copper  mines  during  1921.  The 
few  notes  below  indicate  the  progress  being  made  at  the  principal  pro- 
ducing copper  mine  in  the  state,  which  is  operating  in  the  northern  part 
of  Plumas  County. 

Engels  Copper  Mining  Company.  Development  has  gained  during 
the  year  and  the  company  claims  to  have  a  good  deal  more  ore  in  sight 
than  at  the  end  of  1920.  No.  7  level  in  the  Engels  mine,  which  is  722 
feet  deep  and  had  just  been  started  at  the  time  of  the  last  report,  had 
reached  a  length  of  1500  feet  at  the  end  of  October,  1921.  Three  new 
stopes  have  been  opened  and  five  more  are  planned.  This  level  is  in  ore 
for  700  feet  (October,  1921).  The  main  ore-body  here  shows  about 
40,000  square  feet  area ;  the  702  ore-body,  south  of  the  main  fault,  6000 
square  feet.  In  the  Superior  mine  about  1850  feet  of  development  work 
has  been  done,  including  about  1000  feet  of  drifts  in  ore,  but  no  sinking. 

A  new  adit  level,  called  No.  10,  which  is  480  feet  below  No.  7,  has  been 
started  near  the  old  smelter,  6500  feet  north  of  the  mill.  It  is  estimated 
this  will  reach  the  Engels  ore-body  when  7500  feet  in,  and  will  be  driven 
500  feet  in  ore  before  raising.  This  adit  had  reached  a  length  of  600 
feet  and  was  going  forward  at  the  rate  of  360  feet  a  month  at  time 
of  visit.  It  is  8  feet  by  8  feet  in  the  clear.  A  trolley  will  deliver  ore 
from  the  portal  of  this  tunnel  to  the  mill,  doing  away  with  the  aerial 
tram  now  in  use. 

This  company  produced  1,055,000  pounds  of  copper  in  August  and 
1,046,000  pounds  in  September.  The  ore  runs  from  2.12  per  cent  to 
2.25  per  cent  copper  and  contains  about  $1  a  ton  in  gold  and  silver. 

Concentrate  is  stated  to  contain  29  per  cent  copper,  and  .075  ounce 
gold  and  8.58  ounces  silver  per  ton.  Recovery  averages  about  86  per 
cent  of  the  copper. 

An  increase  in  mill  capacity  of  about  50  per  cent  is  said  to  hav1 
resulted  during  the  year  from  putting  the  crushing  rolls  in  closed 
circuit  with  two  trommels  which  return  plus  If-inch  ore  to  the  rolls. 
The  mill  in  recent  months  has  been  handling  about  900  tons  a  day. 
Improvements  have  also  been  made  in  the  method  of  cleaning  middling. 

The  company  reports  a  decline  of  several  cents  a  pound  during  the 
past  year  in  the  cost  of  production.  The  present  wage  scale  is  $4.50  for 
miners,  $4  for  muckers  and  $3.50  for  surface  laborers. 

Prospecting  has  continued  at  the  Grus's  mine  during  the  year  and 
some  production  was  made  early  in  the  summer  from  the  initial  opera- 
tion of  the  mill. 

The  prospect  adit  at  the  Snowstorm  claims  has  been  continued  without 
striking  any  important  ore-body. 

Trask  and  Coffer  mine  in  the  Moonlight  district  shipped  a  car  of  ore 
during  the  year. 

GOLD. 
Amador  County. 

The  Argonaut  mine  at  Jackson  was  unwatered  by  about  the  middle 
of  April,  and  during  that  month  twenty  stamps  were  started  on  rock 
coming  from  repair  work  on  the  lower  levels.  Since  then  operations 
have  gradually  expanded  to  nearly  normal.  Amalgam  said  to  have  been 


24  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

worth  about  $60,000,  from  the  November  clean-up,  was  stolen  from  the 
mill  early  in  December. 

Bunkir  II ill  mini ,  near  Drytown,  has  continued  exploratory  work  on 
the  lower  levels,  and  has  been  forced  to  continue  levying  assessments 
during  the  year.  For  eleven  years  previous  to  1916  this  mine  paid 
sieadily. 

Central  Eureka  mine,  at  Sutter  Creek,  has  been  in  profitable  operation 
throughout  the  year.  Many  improvements  were  planned  for  the  year 
and  have  been  partly  carried  out.  These  include  installation  of  electric 
power  for  hoisting;  straightening  and  repairing  shaft  and  putting  new 
T-rails  in  shaft ;  and  erection  of  a  new  head-frame.  The  annual  report 
for  the  year  ending  the  middle  of  April,  1921,  shows  a  production  of 
$418,033,  or  over  $11  a  ton.  Shaft  sinking  from  the  3900-foot  level  was 
begun  in  September,  and  had  reached  a  depth  of  4194  feet  (incline)  by 
December  1.  An  option  has  been  taken  on  the  adjoining  South  Eureka 
mine,  and  prospect  drifts  from  the -lower  levels  of  the  Central  Eureka 
are  being  extended  into  the  South  Eureka.  This  arrangement  allows 
prospecting  the  South  Eureka  1000  to  1400  feet  below  the  deepest  of  the 
old  workings,  at  comparatively  low  cost,  as  the  Central  Eureka  levels  had 
already  been  driven  to  the  latter 's  south  line. 

Defender  mine,  on  the  south  side  of  the  county  on  the  east  belt,  has 
been  consolidated  with  the  Lone  Star  property  across  the  Mokelumne 
River  in  Calaveras  County,  by  the  West  Point  Consolidated  Mines,  Inc. 
It  is  being  worked  now  on  a  small  scale  by  lessees. 

Fremont  mine,  near  Drytown  on  the  mother  lode  and  north  of  the 
Treasure  mine,  has  been  unwatered  during  the  year  by  Metals  Explora- 
tion Company,  and  is  being  prospected. 

K( nnedy  mine  was  unwatered  by  the  end  of  June  and  the  balance  of 
the  year  has  been  spent  in  repairs  to  the  shaft  and  lower  levels. 

Moore  mine.  Work  of  reopening  this  old  mine,  a  mile  south  of  Jack- 
son, was  begun  in  August  by  the  Moore  Mining  Company  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. A  head-frame  has  been  built,  electric  hoist,  pump  and  compressor 
installed,  and  umvatering  and  shaft  timbering  is  under  way.  The  old 
shaft  is  500  feet  deep,  with  levels  every  100  feet. 

Old  Eureka  mine,  at  Sutter  Creek,  was  closed  down  in  June  after 
over  1500  feet  of  shaft  sinking  and  several  thousand  feet  of  drifts  and 
crosscuts  on  four  levels  had  been  driven.  Diamond  drilling  also  failed 
to  locate  any  important  bodies  of  ore.  Considerable  of  the  equipment 
was  sold  for  use  at  the  Moore  mine. 

Plymouth  mine,  at  Plymouth,  has  continued  mining  and  milling 
throughout  the  year.  This  work  has  been  mainly  on  low  grade  ore. 
although  smaller  chutes  of  high  grade  ore  are  found  from  time  to  time, 
the  latest  reported  being  on  the  west  vein,  on  the  3225  level. 

PLACER   MINING. 

Little  placer  mining  has  been  done  in  the  county  during  recent  years. 

The  Crocker  Company  has  been  preparing  for  two  years  past  to 
hydraulic  the  old  Elephant,  China  Hill  and  adjacent  mines  at  and  near 
the  town  of  Volcano.  The  work  included  cleaning  and  repairing  reser- 
voirs and  twenty -eight  miles  of  old  ditches.  The  pay  gravel  has  a  width 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  25 

up  to  1000  feet  and  depth  of  from  six  to  twenty  feet,  and  lies  on  mica 
schist  and  limestone  bedrock.  The  company  will  be  ready  to  start  piping 
as  soon  as  water  is  available. 

Butte  County. 

There  is  little  new  development  to  record  from  this  county  during 
the  year. 

Daley  Prospect,  in  Sec.  23,  T.  19  N.,  R.  5  E.,  was  being  opened  by 
W.  P.  Black  &  Co.  of  Sacramento  during  the  summer.  The  property 
was  not  visited,  but  a  shaft  30  feet  deep  and  a  tunnel  60  feet  below  the 
outcrop  were  said  to  show  a  vein  18  inches  to  two  feet  wide,  from  which 
a  mill  test  of  12  tons  was  said  to  have  yielded  $30  a  ton.  The  prospect 
is  about  one-half  mile  from  the  Oroville-Forbestown  road. 

Hazelton  (Carlisle)  mine  is  in  Sec.  35,  T.  20  N.,  R.  6  E.,  three  miles 
north  of  Forbestown.  F.  A.  Rose  and  C.  Lilly  planned  some  wrork  this 
year,  but  the  property  was  idle  in-  October,  with  a  watchman  in  charge. 
There  is  a  shaft  reaching  a  depth  of  about  200  feet  below  the  river  bed, 
and  over  400  feet  of  drifts.  A  10-stamp  mill  was  formerly  operated. 

Lookout  mine  comprises  three  claims  in  Sec.  23,  T.  20  N.,  R.  7  E.,  five 
miles  by  trail  from  Strawberry  Valley,  and  in  the  canyon  of  South  Fork 
of  Feather  River.  B.  J.  Aydelott  and  son  were  working  the  claims 
during  the  summer. 

A  little  work  has  been  done  at  the  Phoenix  and  Wyandotte  mines 
during  the  summer.  A  small  stamp  mill  and  other  equipment  was  to  be 
put  on  the  Wyandotte  late  in  summer  and  the  shaft  was  to  be  deepened. 
J.  A.  Coutts  of  San  Francisco  was  in  charge. 

PLACER    MINING. 

Steifcr  Drift  mine,  three  miles  from  Magalia,  was  opened  during  the 
year  and  a  little  gravel  has  been  washed.  The  channel  here  is  opened 
by  a  shaft  and  a  steep  incline,  with  a  total  depth  of  508  feet.  This  had 
to  be  pumped  out.  The  mine  has  its  own  electric  power  plant  on  the 
West  Branch  of  Feather  River.  It  has  been  worked  at  intervals  since 
1855,  when  it  was  known  as  the  Pershbacker. 

Lawrence  Gardella,  was  reported  early  in  the  summer  to  be  planning 
dredging  operations  on  Butte  Creek  on  the  Groves  and  Hanscomb 
ranches. 

Calaveras  County. 

Angels  Camp  Deep  Mining  Co.  put  its  mill  in  operation  and  ran  for  a 
few  days,  but  the  grade  of  rock  crushed  was  said  to  have  been  disap- 
pointing. Financing  for  further  operations  was  going  on  in  November. 

Bullion  Hill  Mining  Co.  (Washington  mine).  This  mine  is  six  miles 
north  of  Murphys  in  Sec.  20,  T.  4  N.,  R.  14  E.,  and  just  west  of  Sheep 
Ranch  road.  It  contains  one  full  claim  and  a  fraction,  called  Golden 
Bell  and  Middle  Fraction.  W.  O.  Crosby  of  Vallejo  is  president  and 
Fred  Walker  of  Sheep  Ranch  is  superintendent  of  the  mine  and  secre- 
tary of  the  company. 

The  present  company  started  work  July  27,  1921.  An  adit  had 
previously  been  driven  1200  feet,  giving  200  feet  depth  on  the  vein  at  the 
face.  This  adit  followed  the  vein  N.  70  degrees  E.  800  feet,  and  vein 


20  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

had  previously  been  stoped  to  the  surface  for  a  length  of  200  feet  or 
more.  This  drift  has  been  advanced  KH)  feet  by  the  present  company. 
There  is  also  an  old  shaft  13<)  feet  deep,  1000  feet  from  the  tunnel  portal, 
but  this  is  said  to  be  on  a  parallel  vein  to  the  north. 

The  vein  is  solid  quartz  and  ribbon  quartz  and  is  three  to  six  feet  wide, 
occupying  a  strong  fissure.  Near  the  portal,  a  dike  follows  one  wall  or 
the  other,  as  is  common  in  many  east  belt  mines.  The  country  rock  is 
mica  schist  with  diorite  porphyry  dikes  and  probably  underlaid  by 
granodiorite.  The  ore  contains  free  gold  and  as  high  as  10  per  cent 
auriferous  pyrite  and  galena,  with  reported  traces  of  zinc,  antimony 
and  manganese. 

Five  1150-pound  stamps  and  two  Frue  vanners  were  in  operation  at 
time  of  visit,  handling  fifteen  tons  daily.  The  superintendent  stated 
that  ore  milled  from  89  feet  of  .drifting,  with  only  a  few  cars  thrown 
out  as  waste,  had  yielded  $14.75  a  ton.  Drifting  will  be  continued  on 
the  main  vein,  and  crosscuts  will  be  driven  north  and  south  to  prospect 
for  parallel  veins.  Electric  power  is  used.  Mine  equipment  includes  a 
10-inch  by  14-inch  compressor,  transformers,  blacksmith  shop,  pump  for 
raising  mill  water  from  Indian  Creek,  and  numerous  small  motors. 

Carlton-  mine  is  1.8  miles  from  West  Point.  Wendell  Phillips  of  West 
Point,  part  owner  of  the  property,  was  working  on  it  with  two  men 
during  the  fall.  In  November  a  ditch  one-half  mile  long  was  being 
repaired  and  Phillips  planned  to  take  water  from  the  Middle  Fork  of 
Mokelumne  River  for  operating  a  compressor.  The  ground  is  being 
prospected  by  adits,  the  lower  of  which  is  130  feet  below  the  outcrop. 
The  vein  strikes  north  and  has  a  maximum  width  of  two  and  one-half 
feet. 

Coltitnlnix  mine  adjoins  the  Lone  Star  mine  on  the  southwest  and  is 
three  miles  from  West  Point.  The  claim  has  been  prospected  by  several 
shallow  shafts  in  the  past.  In  November  W.  W.  Gibson  was  employing 
a  half  dozen  men.  A  crosscut  had  been  driven  130  feet  to  a  small  fissure 
which  had  been  followed  nearly  300  feet,  where  the  vein  was  encoun- 
tered and  drifted  on  for  60  feet.  A  raise  put  up  40  feet  showed  the 
vein  four  and  one-half  to  five  feet  wide,  composed  of  bluish  quartz  and 
heavily  mineralized  with  sulphide  of  iron  and  copper.  Drift  was  125 
feet  below  outcrop  at  face.  Ore  was  being  crushed  in  a  Gibson  mill  and 
concentrate  said  to  assay  at  times  up  to  several  hundred  dollars  a  ton  in 
value  was  being  sacked  for  shipment. 

Finncfjan  mine,  on  the  northeast  slope  of  Carson  Hill,  has  been 
equipped  with  a  10-stamp  mill  and  other  machinery  and  put  in  opera- 
tion early  in  the  year  by  Lewis,  Gilman  and  Moore.  More  regarding 
this  and  other  mother  lode  mines  will  appear  in  a  forthcoming  report. 

Good  Luck  mine  is  about  three  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Railroad 
Flat  by  road,  and  contains  three  claims,  covering  4500  feet  along  the 
strike  of  the  vein.  The  owners,  F.  Lagomarsino,  T.  Scordalero,  V.  Val- 
conesi,  I).  Bianchero  and  II.  Sanguinetti,  were  mining  and  milling  ore  in 
November.  The  vein  is  opened  by  a  crosscut  adit  and  drift  550  feet  long 
and  60  feet  below  the  outcrop,  and  varies  from  a  few  inches  to  four  feet 
in  width.  A  2-stamp  mill  and  Handy  concentrator  were  installed  this 
summer  and  70  tons  of  ore  milled  were  said  to  have  yielded  $15  a  ton. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  27 

Keltz  mine  and  Lone  Star  mine,  both  in  the  Wast  Point  district,  have 
been  bonded  by  the  West  Point  Consolidated  Gold  Mines  Company, 
Incorporated,  and  have  been  prospected  during  the  past  year  by  the 
North  Star  Mines  Company  of  Grass  Valley.  More  details  regarding 
these  mines  and  others  in  the  same  district  will  appear  in  an  early 
chapter  of  the  next  report. 

Morgan  mine  has  been  in  steady  operation  during  the  year,  with  mill 
capacity  increased  to  15,000  tons  monthly.  A  reserve  of  medium  grade 
ore  sufficient  for  several  years  is  now  claimed  for  this  mine.  Further 
data  on  this  and  other  mother  lode  mines  W7ill  appear  in  a  forthcoming 
report  on  that  district. 

Sheep  Ranch  mine.  Montali  Mine  Syndicate,  H.  Robinson  Plate, 
general  manager,  San  Francisco;  W.  W.  Logan,  superintendent,  Sheep 
Ranch. 

The  mine  had  previously  been  opened  by  three  shafts,  the  deepest  of 
which,  called  Sheep  Ranch  shaft,  was  down  to  1350  feet,  with  a  winze  200 
feet  deeper,  when  the  mine  was  last  worked,  in  1907.  At  that  time  the 
1300-foot  level  had  been  driven  1800  feet  east  and  800  feet  west ;  1400- 
foot  level  900  feet  east  and  1550-foot  level  about  150  feet  each  way.  The 
mine  was  considered  stoped  out  to  the  1000-foot  level.  Old  stopes  were 
filled. 

The  present  company,  during  three  years  past,  has  unwatered  ana 
repaired  the  workings,  has  sunk  the  shaft  to  1700  feet  and  has  sunk  a 
winze  from  1300  to  the  1700-foot  level,  750  feet  east  of  the  shaft.  A  sub- 
level  at  1400  feet  has  been  driven  200  feet  west  and  250  feet  east  from 
this  winze,  the  1550-foot  level  has  been  driven  1100  feet  east  and  300 
feet  west  of  shaft,  with  ore  in  a  series  of  lenses  all  the  wray;  and  the 
1700-foot  level  has  been  driven  the  same  distances.  At  time  of  visit  in 
November,  1921,  stoping  from  the  1400-foot  sub-level  had  reached  the 
1300-level,  stoping  was  going  on  from  the  1550-level,  and  a  stope  had 
just  been  started  from  the  1700-level,  all  east  of  the  shaft. 

The  vein  is  generally  narrow,  but  swells  to  a  width  of  three  feet  or  more, 
and  occupies  a  strongly  defined  fissure  which  strikes  N.  55  degrees  W.  and 
dips  70  to  75  degrees  northeast  in  hard,  black,  siliceous  mica  schist.  Dikes 
of  gabbro  or  diorite,  probably  connected  with  the  large  gabbro  mass  to  the 
north,  have  crossed  the  vein.  The  hanging  wall  shows  loose  slabs  and 
lenses  of  graphitic  schist,  and  the  tendency  of  these  to  fall  makes  careful 
stoping  necessary,  for  motives  of  economy  as  well  as  safety.  A  dike 
appears  on  the  1550  and  1700  levels  east  of  shaft.  The  vein  approaches 
this  crossing  on  the  footwall  side  of  fissure  on  the  1550-level,  narrows 
near  the  dike,  and  beyond  it  takes  the  hanging  wall  side  of  fissure. 

The  ore  is  quartz,  sometimes  bluish  in  color,  and  occurs  in  a  series  of 
irregular  lenses  that  sometimes  overlap.  It  is  apt  to  change  suddenly 
from  medium  to  high  grade  or  vice  versa,  and  this  condition  increases 
the  difficulties  and  uncertainties  of  operation.  The  continuity  and 
richness  of  the  vein,  however,  are  indicated  by  the  extent  of  the  old 
workings,  in  which  an  average  thickness  of  five  feet  was  stoped  for  a 
maximum  length  of  1400  feet  to  a  depth  of  1300  feet,  giving  a  reported 
yield  of  $4,000,000  from  400,000  tons  of  ore.  The  pay  is  principally  in 
free  gold.  A  mixture  of  various  sulphides  of  iron,  copper,  lead  and 
zinc,  etc.,  are  said  to  make  up  only  one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  the  ore. 

5—16218 


28  CALIFORNIA   STATE   MINING   BUREAU. 

Centrifugal  pumps  are  used  on  the  850  and  1800-foot  levels,  and  a 
Dean  Triplex  pump  on  the  1700-foot  level  handles  about  125  gallons  of 
water  a  minute  to  the  1300-foot  level.  .A  total  of  about  200  gallons  per 
minute  is  pumped  to  the  300-foot  level  where  it  drains  off  through  a 
tunnel  2400  feet  long. 

The  present  company  started  the  mill  December  24,  1920.  Ore  is 
hoisted  to  the  headframe  and  dumped  on  gri/xlies.  where  the  coarse  ore 
is  sorted  by  two  mm.  then  crushed  in  a  12-inch  by  15-inch  rock  breaker 
and  trammed  to  the  mill  bins.  Twenty  850-pound  stamps  dropping 
104  times  a  minute  crush  the  ore  in  solution  and  discharge  at  a  height 
of  three  inches  through  a  coarse  punched  screen.  Pulp  from  the  stamps 
is  passed  over  Hungarian  riffles  to  catch  coarse  gold  and  is  then  classified, 
the  oversize  going  to  a  5-foot  by  16-foot  tube  mill  in  closed  circuit, 
grinding  to  about  150  mesh.  Entire  product  is  cyanided.  It  is  thick- 
ened in  a  10-foot  by  26-foot  Dorr  thickener  to  about  45  per  cent  solids. 
Solution  from  the  thickener  goes  to  clarifier,  thence  to  gold  tank  and 
zinc  boxes.  Pulp  goes  to  three  Dorr  agitators  in  series,  and  thence  to 
four  Dorr  thickeners  in  series,  which  give  a  product  about  70  per  cent 
solids,  and  solution  passes  to  clarifiers  and  to  gold  tank  and  zinc  boxes 
for  precipitation.  A  small  part  of  solution  from  zinc  boxes  after  pre- 
cipitation of  the  gold  is  returned  to  the  agitators  to  bring  pulp  to  con- 
sistency of  one  to  two  but  most  of  it  goes  to  No.  4  thickener  as  a  wash. 
A  battery  storage  tank  holds  125  tons  of  solution  carrying  .75  pound  of 
cyanide  per  ton.  About  three  and  one-half  pounds  of  lime  and  .9  pound 
of  cyanide  per  ton  of  ore  are  used. 

Mine  equipment  includes  two  air  compressors  with  combined  capacity 
of  1600  cubic  feet  free  air,  operated  by  150-horsepower  and  100-horse- 
power  electric  motors,  and  hoist  with  depth  capacity  of  2000  feet, 
operated  by  200-horsepower  motor.  Water  is  obtained  through  seven 
miles  of  company's  own  ditch  from  San  Antone  Creek  and  electric 
power  is  bought  from  the  Utica  Mining  Co.  Of  a  total  crew  of 
57  men  employed  in  November,  1921,  38  were  working  underground 
and  seven  in  the  mill.  Miners  are  paid  $4.25,  muckers  $3.75  and  bat- 
terymen  $4.50  a  shift. 

Tailgate  mine.  (Port  Arthur.)  Tollgate  Mining  Company.  This 
prospect  is  one-half  mile  south  of  Altaville.  It  contains  one  claim  1750 
feet  long  and  adjoining  agricultural  land  on  the  strike  of  the  vein,  mak- 
ing 50  acres  in  all.  There  is  a  shaft  150  feet  deep  with  levels  at  100  and 
150  feet,  and  100  feet  north  of  this  another  shaft  30  feet  deep.  There  is 
about  50  feet  of  drift  and  crosscut  on  the  150-foot  level.  According  to 
G.  A.  Ross,  who  is  in  charge,  one  hundred  tons  milled  $7.50.  This  was 
from  the  100-foot  level  near  the  shaft.  There  is  a  3-stamp  mill  and  one 
belt  vanner  on  the  property,  which  was  idle  wrhen  visited  in  November, 
1921. 

Blair  mine.  Triple  Lode  Mines  Company,  68  Post  street,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  This  property  is  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  Alta- 
ville, near  the  Copperopolis  road.  There  was  an  old  shaft  450  feet 
deep  when  this  company  took  the  property.  They  have  sunk  a  new 
shaft  250  feet  deep,  800  feet  north  of  the  old  one,  and  in  the  footvvall. 
Crosscuts  300  feet  long  have  been  driven  on  the  150-foot  and  250-foot 
levels,  and  drifts  60  feet  on  shaft  vein  on  150-foot  level,  260  feet  on 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  29 

shaft  vein  on  250-foot  level,  200  feet  on  east  vein  and  80  feet  on  another 
small  vein  on  250-foot  level,  but  no  ore  is  claimed  to  have  been  developed 
up  to  middle  of  November,  1921. 

A  twenty-stamp  mill  was  moved  from  the  old  Hardenberg  mine  but 
has  not  been  set  up.  Property  is  supplied  with  electric  power  and 
equipped  with  a  10-inch  by  12-inch  compressor,  electrically  operated 
pump,  air-driven  hoist  and  small  buildings.  A  few  men  were  working 
one  shift  in  November  and  more  work  was  awaiting  further  financing. 

PLACER    MINES. 

Glenn  mine.  J.  W.  Glenn,  owner,  Mountain  Ranch.  This  property, 
formerly  called  the  Warren  Ranch,  is  three  miles  north  of  Mountain 
Ranch  in  Sec.  31;  T.  5  N.,  R.  13  E.,  and  contains  several  gulches  said 
to  carry  valuable  gravel.  It  is  planned  to  hydraulic  these  gulches  dur- 
ing the  present  winter.  The  pay  will  run  about  50  feet  wide  and  six 
feet  deep  in  the  main  gulch,  judging  from  results  had  from  a  few  pros- 
pect holes  recently  dug,  and  a  little  work  done  years  ago. 

A  stone  debris  dam  was  being  started  the  middle  of  November,  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  below  the  property.  Water  will  be  secured  from 
O'Neill  Creek  through  four  miles  of  ditch. 

Noce  Placer  mine,  about  five  miles  east  of  Mokelumne  Hill,  was 
operated  by  Frederick  H.  Rindge  of  Stockton  for  about  three  months 
last  season  with  a  '  dry  land  dredge. '  Rindge  has  applied  for  a  permit 
to  hydraulic  the  ground  this  season.  It  is  on  Whiskey  Slide  Hill,  and 
it  is  planned  to  impound  the  tailings  in  a  gulch  just  below  the  mine. 
Property  is  equipped  with  electric  power  for  pumping  water.  It  has 
been  worked  in  a  small  way  in  the  past  during  rainy  weather  by  the 
owner,  John  Noce. 

El  Dorado  County. 

Several  small  mines  and  prospects  have  been  unwatered  and  examined 
in  the  Greenwood  and  Spanish  Dry  Diggings  districts  during  the  sum- 
mer. A  complete  new  report  on  the  Mother  Lode  region  of  El  Dorado 
and  neighboring  counties  is  in  course  of  preparation,  and  this  will  deal 
with  idle  as  well  as  active  mines.  Those  noted  below  have  either  made 
some  production  or  promise  to  begin  producing  soon. 

Golden  Unit  mine  formerly  the  Argonaut,  is  a  mile  southeast  of  Green- 
wood. Golden  Unit  Mining  Company,  Frank  C.  Fox,  manager,  Green- 
wood. Office,  305  Nicolaus  Building,  Sacramento.  The  company, 
purchased  the  property  this  year  and  in  July  installed  a  Gibson  mill 
with  a  nominal  capacity  of  10  tons  a  day.  This  was  for  the  purpose  of 
prospecting  the  quartz  veins  which  outcrop  on  the  claims,  and  which  in 
the  past  have  yielded  some  ore  of  pockety  character.  Besides  the 
Argonaut  patented  lode  claim,  there  are  two  unpatented  placer  claims 
and  one  unpatented  lode  claim.  The  claims  are  on  the  course  of  the 
west  branch  of  the  Mother  Lode  slates  and  greenstone. 

Grit  mine.  Grit  Gold  Mining  Company,  Bryte  Building,  Sacramento. 
This  property,  which  was  described  in  our  1920  report,  has  been  in 
steady  operation  during  1921.  A  5-stamp  mill  and  Deister  concen- 
trator, an  11-inch  by  12-inch  air  compressor  and  an  air  hoist  have  been 
installed  and  water  under  350-foot  head  has  been  brought  in  for  power 


30  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING*  BUREAU. 

and  milling.  The  mill  has  been  running  since  July  1,  1921,  and  can 
handle  about  fifteen  tons  a  day  when  worked  to  full  capacity.  When 
last  visited,  the  hoist  was  being  erected  over  one  of  the  win/rs  in  the 
main  tunnel,  and  this  win/e,  which  was  down  28  feet,  was  to  be  deepened. 
Several  satisfactory  clean-ups  have  been  reported  since,  and  in  October 
arrangements  were  being  made  to  finance  erection  of  five  more  stamps. 
Harilak  mine  is  at  Nashville.  In  July  a  5-stamp  mill  was  put  up 
and  has  been  in  operation  since,  crushing  the  dump,  which  is  said  to 
be  yielding  satisfactorily.  There  is  material  enough  to  keep  such  a  mill 
going  several  years,  as  there  is  a  shaft  over  1200  feet  deep  and  hundreds 
of  feet  of  drifts  at  intervals  of  100  feet  in  the  property. 

Pacific  Channel  mine  (drift)  is  at  Pacific  on  the  Placerville  and 
Lake  Tahoe  highway.  Pay  gravel  was  struck  in  this  property  early  in 
the  summer.  When  preparations  were  made  for  milling,  difficulty 
arose  over  water  supply  and  application  was  made  to  the  State  Rail- 
road Commission  to  direct  the  water  company  to  deliver  needed  water 
to  the  mine's  ditch.  After  a  long  delay,  during  which  the  mine  was 
shut  down,  it  was  found  that  a  contract  existed  between  the  owners  and 
lessees  of  the  water  supply,  which  stipulated  that  a  certain  amount  of 
the  water  in  the  canal  in  question  was  for  mining  purposes,  and  an 
order  was  issued  allotting  the  above  mine  the  use  of  forty  miner's 
inches  of  water  one-third  of  the  time. 

Nevada  County. 

Allison  Ranch  mine,  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Grass  Valley,  was 
closed  June  1,  1921.  The  last  operators  prospected  the  property  quite 
thoroughly  for  new  ore-bodies,  but  without  success. 

On  No.  1(1  level.  1450  feet  deep  on  the  dip  of  vein,  a  crosscut  was 
driven  1550  feet  due  west  to  the  Ilartery  vein,  a  raise  was  put  up  510 
feet  on  that  vein  and  drifts  were  run  700  feet  south  and  270  feet  north 
on  it  without  finding  ore.  On  No.  6  level,  crosscuts  were  run  east  840 
feet  and  west  G40  feet  without  result.  Levels  except  No.  6  down  to  and 
including  No.  10  had  previously  been  run  out  in  most  cases  far  enough 
to  thoroughly  prospect  the  mine.  On  No.  6  level,  in  the  opinion  of 
C.  A.  Brockington,  the  superintendent,  the  south  drift  had  not  been 
carried  far  enough  to  get  under  the  Caribou  ore-shoot,  because  of  its 
rake  as  seen  in  the  upper  levels.  The  last  work  before  closing  \vas  to 
drive  No.  6  and  No.  8  levels  south  past  the  Allison  Ranch  end-line  into 
the  New  Idea  claim,  on  which  they  had  an  option.  Brockington 
'claimed  No.  6  level  on  this  end  showed  $8.30  ore,  according  to  mill  runs 
made  in  May,  1921. 

There  had  been  about  $800,000  spent  on  the  mine  and  surface  plant 
by  this  company  according  to  Brockington.  Nearly  three- fourths  of  a 
total  production  of  about  $240,000  between  July,  1917,  and  June,  1920, 
was  made  by  tributers  from  ore  mined  on  the  south  end  of  the  mine 
between  the  300  level  and  the  surface.  The  tributers  mined  23,141  tons 
worth  $7.38  a  ton  and  the  owners  mined  16,523  tons  worth  $3.87  a  ton. 

Alcalde  mine.  This  mine  has  been  in  process  of  development  during 
the  year,  with  a  few  men  employed  underground.  A  winze  is  being 
sunk  from  the  lowest  level. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  3! 

Empire  mines  at  Grass'  Valley,  reputed  to  be  the  second  largest 
quartz  gold  producer  in  the  state,  has  continued  in  full  operation  dur- 
ing the  year.  Late  in  the  fall  they  were  said  to  be  resuming  work 
through  the  Pennsylvania  shaft.  Operations  at  this  property  are  car- 
ried on  with  great  secrecy,  so  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  details. 

Idaho-Maryland  mines.  The  year  has  been  spent  by  this  company  in 
completing  the  unwatering  of  the  canyon  shaft  to  about  2000  feet  and 
in  repair  work  and  prospecting.  Some  ore  has  been  milled  from  this 
work  on  the  upper  levels  and  prospecting  of  the  lowest  levels  began  in 
the  fall. 

Ironclad  mine.  The  United  American  Mining  Company  has  been  at 
work  on  this  prospect  and  late  in  summer  had  cleaned  out  a  shallow 
shaft  which  they  planned  to  sink  to  a  depth  of  100  feet. 

North  Star  Mines  Company  has  expanded  the  scale  of  operation  since 
the  making  of  the  new  wage  agreement  and  were  operating  50  stamps 
when  visited  in  October.  Costs  and  operating  conditions  have  improved 
greatly  during  the  year. 

N ormundie-Dulmaine  mine.  Late  in  summer  work  was  resumed  at 
this  prospect,  which  lies 'just  northeast  of  the  Alcalde  mine.  Plans  to 
sink  the  shaft  were  announced.  A  few  men  were  employed  at  the  end 
of  September.  Previous  to  that  time,  the  present  company  had  done 
little.  There  are  some  old  shafts  and  cuts  on  the  claims. 

Eed  Ledge  mine.  This  mine  is  on  the  Nevada  City  and  Washington 
road,  about  two  miles  from  Washington.  The  new  lower  tunnel  and 
plant  are  at  an  elevation  of  3250  feet.  This  is  about  510  feet  vertically 
below  the  apex  at  the  road  crossing.  The  new  tunnel,  which  has  been 
driven  by  a  company  during  the  past  two  years,  is  1600  feet  long,  of 
which  300  feet  is  crosscut  and  1300  feet  on  the  vein.  Although  two  of 
the  small  pay-shoots,  which  had  yielded  coarse  crystallized  gold  speci- 
mens in  the  upper  works,  were  struck  in  this  tunnel  and  raises  were 
put  up  60  feet  and  30  feet  on  them,  no  pockets  had  been  found  up  to 
time  of  visit,  September  28.  The  property  is  credited  with  a  produc- 
tion of  $45,000  in  gold,  some  of  it  in  beautifully  crystalized  specimen 
form,  and  1000  tons  of  high  grade  chromite. 

Equipment  consists  of  drill  sharpener,  3  air  compressors,  75-horse- 
power  semi-Diesel  engine,  Gibson  mill  of  10  tons  capacity,  small  electric 
light  plant,  and  gas  engines  of  4,  15  and  20  horsepower.  The  mine  was 
idle  in  September. 

Penn-California  Mining  Company  (drift)  has  kept  at  work  through- 
out the  year  on  their  claims  at  Willow  Valley.  A  raise  put  up  about 
100  feet  above  the  main  tunnel  struck  gravel  in  July,  but  the  bedrock 
was  pitching  and  indicated  they  were  on  the  rim. 

Placer  County. 

American  Bar  Gold  Mining  Company  has  been  prospecting  the  claims 
of  the  same  name  on  the  side  of  American  River  Canyon,  south  of  Michi- 
gan Bluff,  and  had  at  last  report  two  good  faces  of  ore  about  500  feet 
above  the  river.  This  mine  was  worked  twenty -five  years  ago. 

Drummond  mine  is  three  miles  northwest  of  Baker  Ranch.  P.  M. 
Brown  has  been  working  here  since  January,  1921.  He  has  installed  a 
ten-ton  capacity  Gibson  mill,  with  which  he  has  crushed  a  little  ore. 


32  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

Besides  the  old  workings,  Brown  has  prospected  one  vein  for  a  distance 
of  500  feet  on  the  strike,  the  greatest  depth  attained  being  120  feet  on 
a  40-degree  angle,  near  the  middle  of  this  section,  with  shallow  cuts 
and  short  drifts  200  feet  north  and  300  feet  south  of  the  shaft.  He 
claims  the  ore  tested  was  of  good  milling  grade. 

Garbe  and  de  Maria  mine  is  on  Lady  Canyon  on  the  steep  north  side 
of  the  canyon  of  Middle  Fork  of  American  River.  Two  men  were 
employed  during  the  year  in  the  search  for  the  occasional  pockets  of 
coarse  crystallized  gold  for  which  this  mine  is  locally  noted.  The 
workings  have  not  reached  below  the  oxidized  zone  as  yet,  but  consist  of 
a  network  of  crooked  drifts  on  a  flat  seam,  which  dips  east  about  fifteen 
degrees.  This  seam  has  produced  a  good  many  thousand  dollars  in 
beautiful  crystals  of  gold  which  are  in  demand  at  much  more  than  their 
bullion  value  for  jewelry.  The  mine  has  been  in  operation  for  many 
years,  but  the  operators  seem  at  a  loss  to  recognize  any  sure  signs  to 
show  when  they  are  approaching  pay,  and  the  gold  is  said  to  occur  some- 
times with  the  commonly  recognized  precipitants  such  as  manganese 
oxides  and  iron  oxides,  and  at  other  times  without  them ;  at  times  it  is 
with  quartz  and  at  times  almost  free  of  it. 

Langstaff  and  Storey  (formerly  Andy  Farrier  Diggings)  were  employ- 
ing two  men  during  the  summer  on  the  claim  just  north  of  the  Garbe 
and  de  Maria  mine,  and  possibly  on  the  same  seam  system.  Prospecting 
only  was  going  on. 

Oro  Fina  mine.  Underground  work  at  this  mine  in  the  Ophir  district 
is  being  continued,  but  the  mill  has  been  in  operation  only  part  of  the 
year. 

Pioneer  mine.  A  crew  of  about  thirty-five  men  has  been  employed 
at  this  mine  during  the  fall,  and  the  mill  has  been  in  operation  part  of 
the  time.  Work  lately  has  been  on  the  Lynn  vein.  This  mine  is  about 
two  miles  north  of  Damascus.  Assessments  have  been  levied  for  some 
time  past. 

Rawhide  mine,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  North  Fork  of  American 
River,  below  Midas,  was  operated  during  the  summer  and  fall,  and  the 
mill  was  run  a  short  time,  but  expectations  of  developing  a  new  shoot 
of  ore  were  said  to  have  been  disappointed. 

Rising  Sun  mine  was  in  operation  steadily  until  the  last  quarter  of 
1921.  As  stated  in  our  last  report,  the  mine  was  completely  equipped 
and  a  new  10-stamp  mill  was  put  up  during  1920.  The  mine  was 
unwatered  and  was  kept  empty  long  enough  to  permit  examination  of 
the  800-  and  900-foot  levels,  but  no  new  ground  was  broken,  on  these 
levels  and  during  the  summer  the  water  was  allowed  to  cover  the  700- 
foot  level.  On  the  300-foot  level  drifts  were  run  60  feet  each  way  by  the 
present  company ;  on  the  500-foot  level,  60  feet  east,  and  on  the  600-foot 
level,  130  feet  east  and  480  feet  west.  A  few  thousand  dollars  were 
produced  from  the  600-foot  level  from  ore  said  to  average  two  to  two 
and  a  half  feet  wide  and  to  be  worth  $15  a  ton.  Preparations  for  sink- 
ing were  being  made  in  the  fall,  but  have  not  been  carried  out. 

The  mine  equipment  includes  a  100-horsepower  Fulton  hoist,  capacity 
to  depth  of  3000  feet;  air  compressor,  capacity  750  feet  free  air  per 
minute ;  one  mile  60,000-volt  line  and  own  transformers,  electric  motors 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  33 

and  pumps.  The  new  sheet  iron  mill  building  houses  ten  1100-pound 
stamps  and  two  Deister  tables,  and  there  is  a  12-inch  by  16-inch  rock 
breaker  and  a  24-inch  link  belt  conveyor  110  feet  long. 

Snowbird  mine.  George  McCullough  and  Lewis  of  Forest  Hill, 
owners.  Nevada-Pacific  Exploration  Company,  lessee.  It  is  in  Sec.  21, 
T.  15  N.,  R  11  E.,  one  mile  from  Sugar  Pine  mill  and  32.5  miles  from 
Auburn  by  road. 

The  lessee  worked  here  over  two  years.  A  shaft  was  sunk  nearly  300 
feet  on  60  degrees  incline  and  levels  were  driven  at  56,  134  and  285  feet 
depths.  Two  veins  are  claimed  to  exist,  but  there  is  very  little  quartz 
and  the  ore  is  mostly  in  talc  zones  in  the  serpentine.  Veins  are  up  to 
3|  feet  wide,  strike  northwest  and  dip  60  degrees  northeast.  On  the 
56-foot  level,  100  feet  was  driven  on  the  'footwall  vein,'  60  feet  was 
crosscut  and  50  feet  was  driven  each  way  on  'hanging  wall  vein.'  On 
134-foot  level  drifts  were  run  110  feet  northwest  and  40  feet  southeast 
on  'footwall  vein,'  a  crosscut  was  run  140  feet  and  drift  was  run  190 
feet  southeast  on  '  hanging  wall  vein. '  On  285-foot  level  a  drift  was  run 
northwest  50  feet  and  southeast  30  feet  on  the  footwall  vein  and  a  crosscut 
was  run  90  feet.  A  length  of  6'0  feet  was  stoped  from  134-foot  level  to  56- 
foot  level  northwest  of  the  shaft.  About  400  tons  in  all  were  milled  by  this 
lessee.  Ore  had  previously  been  taken  out  from  the  56-foot  level  to  the 
surface.  The  face  of  the  southeast  drift  on  the  285-foot  level  is  said 
to  assay  well,  but  no  definite  ore  reserve  was  claimed  when  the  mine  was 
visited  in  October,  1921.  The  property  was  closed  down  in  November, 
1921.  The  mine  yields  3500  to  4000  gallons  of  water  daily  in  summer. 

Power  is  furnished  by  four  horizontal  boilers,  fired  by  wood  cut  on 
the  claim,  and  one  35-horsepower  gas  engine.  There  is  a  35-horsepower 
hoist,  a  Cornish  pump  and  a  Cameron  pump,  two  small  air  compressors, 
a  boarding  house,  office  and  cabins.  The  mill  contains  a  rock  breaker, 
five  light  stamps,  a  50-ton  capacity  ball  mill,  Atkins  classifier,  one  slime 
table,  two  Trent  cyanide  machines  and  accessory  equipment  for  cyanide 
treatment. 

DRIFT    MINES. 

Blue  Eyes  prospect.  Claims  embraced  in  this  group  extend  from 
Deep  Canyon  in  Sec.  32,  T.  15  N.,  R.  13  E.,  southerly  to  Duncan  Canyon 
in  Sec.  16,  T.  14  N.,  R.  13  E.,  along  the  southerly  and  easterly  slopes  of 
a  long  andesite-capped  ridge.  The  northern  part  of  the  property  has  an 
elevation  of  about  6000  feet.  The  present  prospecting  tunnel  is  near  the 
south  end  of  property  at  an  elevation  of  about  4600  feet  and  one-half  mile 
from  the  end  of  the  road,  which  is  passable  for  automobiles  in  the  dry 
season.  The  camp  is  57|  miles  from  Auburn. 

When  visited  in  July,  1921,  the  tunnel  had  been  driven  1100  feet 
northwest  into  the  lava  in  search  of  deep  channels  and  the  indications 
were  that  it  had  then  passed  over  one  channel.  F.  A.  Moss,  superin- 
tendent, was  driving  the  tunnel  ahead  to  pick  up  one  or  more  of  the 
smaller  channels  which  he  reasonably  believes  lie  farther  in  the  ridge. 
Several  small  hydraulic  pits  have  been  -worked  in  the  past  on  this  slope 
of  the  ridge  north  and  east  of  the  line  of  the  new  tunnel  and  it  seems 
certain  that  the  channels  worked  in  these  pits  must  have  traversed  the 


34  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

intervening  distance  in  a  general  westerly  and  southerly  direction.  The 
property  taken  as  a  whole  has  great  possibilities  that  have  so  far  been 
hardly  scratched. 

('arin<n-k  Placer  prospect.  These  claims  were  formerly  called  the 
Pacific  Blue  Lead  mine  and  lie  at  the  head  of  Big  Secret  Canyon  near 
Canada  Hill.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1921  George  Carmack  took  a 
Star  drilling  outfit  to  the  claims  and  began  drilling  in  search  of  a  deep 
channel  which  proably  crosses  the  property.  Two  holes  were  drilled 
without  getting  definite  results.  Drilling  has  been  suspended  for  the 
winter  but  will  be  resumed  in  the  spring.  Several  years  ago  the  ground 
produced  some  gold  from  a  remnant  or  bench  of  free  white  gravel  which 
was  cut  off  by  a  deeper  and  later  channel  that  has  not  yet  been  bot- 
tomed.- There  remains  a  large  and  promising  area  not  yet  prospected 
where  these  two  channels  may  be  encountered. 

Dixie  Queen  mine.  This  small  mine  is  500  feet  above  Duncan  Canyon 
on  the  west  side  in  Sees.  9,  16  and  17,  T.  14  N.,  R.  13  E.,  and  is  reached 
by  trail  from  the  Pine  Nut  mine.  Joseph  Scherer,  part  owner,  continues 
prospecting  the  channel.  An  area  200  feet  long  and  55  feet  wide  has 
been  breasted  above  the  tunnel,  which  is  about  800  feet  long,  and  follows 
the  channel  nearly  southward. 

Double  0  Mining  Company.  This  company  located  a  number  of 
claims  and  did  some  work  on  the  old  mines  at  Deadwood  during  the  past 
summer.  A  few  hundred  carloads  of  gravel  washed  during  June  and 
July.  ]921,  were  said  to  have  paid.  Property  was  not  visited. 

Georgia  Hill  Gravel  Mining  Company,  Incorporated.  Office,  207 
Thayer  building,  Oakland.  J.  F.  Posert,  general  manager,  Yankee  Jims. 
This  company  has  under  option  the  old  hydraulic  and  drift  mines  at 
Georgia  Hill,  adjoining  Yankee  Jims,  and  containing  757  acres  in  Sees. 
32  and  33,  T.  14  X.,  R.  10  E.  A  tunnel  designed  to  bottom  the  channels 
has  been  driven  1400  feet,  starting  on  the  Trafton  and  entering  the  Kerr 
claim.  This  tunnel  was  driven  south,  and  at  a  point  850  feet  in  was 
directly  under  the  face  of  the  old  hydraulic  pit  and  175  feet  vertically 
below  the  bedrock  surface.  Fifty  feet  from  face  of  tunnel  a  raise  was 
put  up  206  feet  and  from  the  top  of  the  raise  an  upper  level  was  driven 
22  feet  south  and  136  feet  west.  At  time  of  visit,  October  5,  1921,  this 
upper  level  was  entering  ground  carrying  heavy  granite  boulders.  The 
gravel  beyond  the  old  hydraulic  pit  passes  under  the  an'desite  cap.  The 
lower  tunnel  should  give  sufficient  depth  to  bottom  the  ground,  and  the 
raise,  being  over  500  feet  beyond  the  face  of  the  old  pit,  will  permit  of 
exploratory  drifts  at  various  levels  and  in  different  directions. 

The  company  has  been  working  since  July  1,  1919.  Equipment  con- 
sists of  small  gas  engines,  8-inch  by  9-inch  air  compressor,  blower,  black- 
smith shop  and  small  buildings. 

Glenn  mine.  This  mine  is  on  the  west  side  of  Duncan  Canyon,  54 
miles  from  Auburn  by  road  and  is  the  only  drift  mine  in  that  district 
that  has  been  productive  during  the  year.  The  mine  is  leased  to  the 
Tillotson  Mining  Company,  F.  Tillotson,  superintendent,  and  part  of 
the  upper  workings  is  subleased  to  Kendall.  When  visited,  July  30, 
1921,  pay  was  being  taken  out  from  both  upper  and  lower  workings. 

The  lowest  and  last  tunnel  is  one  driven  by  the  present  company  and 
starts  600  feet  north  of  the  south  line  of  the  Outlet  claim.  It  struck 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  35 

pay  gravel  almost  directly  below  the  portal  of  the  Moss  tunnel.  Up  to 
the  time  of  visit  this  lower  tunnel  was  620  feet  long  and  had  followed 
the  channel  in  pay  for  150  feet.  The  gravel  had  been  worked  12  to  15 
feet.  wide.  The  gravel  is  mostly  hard  schist  boulders  with  little  quartz 
in  it.  It  ranges  from  nothing  to  2-|  feet  in  thickness,  being  overlain  by 
a  coarse  volcanic  sand  which  in  places  closes  directly  down  upon  the 
hard  polished  schist  bedrock.  The  gold  is  mostly  in  the  crevices  of  the 
bedrock.  The  thinness  or  absence  of  the  gravel  and  the  coarseness  and 
location  of  the  gold  are  due  to  the  steep  grade  of  the  old  stream.  This 
is  plainly  shown  in  the  upper  workings. 

The  upper  workings  consist  of  the  Quigley  tunnel,  largely  on  the 
west  rim,  and  about  1600  feet  long  and  too  high ;  and  the  Shields  tun- 
nel, which  is  1800  feet  long  including  a  fork  to  the  right.  The  portal 
of  the  Shields  tunnel  is  2350  feet  north  of  the  portal  of  the  Tillotson  tun- 
nel, measured  along  the  channel.  The  Shields  portal  is  at  an  elevation 
of  5345  feet,  which  is  382  feet  above  the  Tillotson  portal.  The  face  of 
the  workings  on  the  left  fork  of  Shields  tunnel  is  140  feet  higher  than 
the  portal,  showing  this  steep  rise  in  a  distance  of  1500  feet,  along  which 
there  are  many  sheer  drops  of  several  feet,  evidently  waterfalls  in  the  old 
channel,  and  not  faults.  The  Moss  crevice,  950  feet  in  the  Shields  tun- 
nel, was  22  feet  by  55  feet,  and  is  said  to  have  paid  $9,000.  Beginning 
735  feet  in  this  tunnel,  pay  gravel  had  been  breasted  for  a  length  ol 
200  feet  and  up  to  35  feet  wide,  to  the  time  of  visit,  July  30,  1921. 
This  breast  was  said  to  have  yielded  about  $10,000  then.  The  lower 
workings  are  said  to  be  continuing  in  good  pay  at  this  time  (January 
4,  1922). 

Greek  mine  and  Macedon  mine  adjoin,  and  are  on  the  same  deep 
channel,  on  Little  Secret  Canyon  about  one  mile  by  trail  from  Secret 
House.  Durfee  and  Durfee  of  Auburn  have  been  working  with  a 
small  crew  steadily  since  last  spring.  The  channel  in  its  downstream 
course  passes  from  the  Greek  into  the  Macedon.  They  are  developing 
the  latter  claim  as  far  downstream  as  the  grade  will  permit,  using  the 
Greek  Tunnel,  and  have  not  yet  washed  any  gravel  except  for  sampling, 
but  the  ground  paid  well  in  the  Greek  claim  and  it  is  presumed  will 
prove  valuable  downstream. 

Hard  Climb  mine  is  on  the  east  side  of  Duncan  Canyon,  in  the  S.E.  | 
of  Sec.  4  and  adjoining  part  of  Sec.  9,  T.  14  N.,  R.  13  E.,  and  acces- 
sible only  by  trail  from  the  Glenn  or  adjoining  mines.  There  are  two 
tunnels  213  feet  and  155  feet  long,  in  gravel,  and  another  driven  too 
high.  Chas.  Arch,  Clark  Sullivan  and  W.  T.  Lundy  bonded  the  prop- 
erty late  in  1921,  and  Arch  and  Sullivan  planned  to  spend  the  winter 
prospecting  and  sampling  the  gravel  in  sight. 

Home  Ticket  mine  is  one  of  the  former  producers  of  the  Last  Chance 
district.  There  is  an  old  working  tunnel  over  5000  feet  long,  from 
which  the  channel  was  extensively  breasted.  M.  C.  Threlkeld  and  W.  T. 
Davis  of  Auburn  leased  the  ground  below  this  tunnel  and  from  a  point 
in  the  tunnel  4000  feet  from  the  portal  started  a  winze  in  search  of  a 
deeper  channel.  A  crew  of  nine  men  was  employed  when  visited,  but 
work  was  suspended  for  the  season  in  November,  before  the  deeper 
channel  was  found.  Davis  intends  to  resume  work  in  the  spring. 


36  CALIFORNIA   STATK   MINING   BUREAU. 

Ralston  mine.  California-Hawaiian  Development  Company  has 
continued  prospecting  during  the  past  season  hut  has  not  yet  announced 
any  results  of  particular  interest. 

Plumas   County. 

Crescent  mine.  Between  1917  and  Fehruary,  1921,  the  Philadelphia 
Exploration  Company  did  considerable  new  work  at  this  old  mine  in 
the  town  of  Crescent  Mills.  Electric  power  was  put  in  and  motors, 
compressor,  hoist  and  pumps  were  installed.  The  mine  was  unwatered. 
then  closed  on  account  of  the  war,  and  later  unwatered  again.  The 
shaft  was  sunk  from  the  400-foot  level  to  550-foot  level.  On  the  550- 
foot  level  a  fault  zone  76  feet  wide  was  encountered  but  the  rock  in  it 
was  too  low  grade  to  mine.  On  the  400-foot  level  and  between  there 
and  the  200-foot  level,  a  great  deal  of  new  work  was  done  but  results 
were  disappointing  according  to  the  company's  manager. 

Green  Mountain  mine  adjoins  the  Crescent  and  has  been  prospected 
lately  by  the  Philadelphia  Exploration  Company  with  G.  W.  Worthing- 
ton  as  manager.  It  was  formerly  worked  by  tunnels  as  deep  as 
practicable.  No.  6  tunnel,  the  deepest  old  entry,  is  about  1000  feet 
below  the  outcrop.  This  was  reopened  to  the  face,  a  length  of  5080 
feet,  by  the  present  company  and  at  a  point  3400  feet  in  a  winze  was 
sunk  500  feet  on  dip  of  vein,  averaging  53  degrees  south.  Three  levels 
were  turned,  at  depths  of  150,  300,  and  450  feet.  Stations  20  feet  by 
30  feet  were  cut  on  150-foot  and  450-foot  levels,  and  on  300-foot  level  a 
sump  drift  300  feet  long  was  driven  and  bulkheaded  for  pumping. 
Drifts  east  and  west  on  150  and  450-foot  levels  have  revealed  the 
Green  Mountain  Vein  striking  north  70  degree  west  and  dipping  53 
degrees  south,  with  an  average  width  of  18  feet,  but  up  to  the  time  of 
visit,  late  in  October,  1921,  this  vein  had  proven  to  be  low  grade. 
Work  was  done  on  the  sulphide  ore-shoot  under  the  Lizzie  claim. 

The  company  owns  its  own  power  line  one-half  mile  long  from  the 
Crescent  mine  to  the  Green  Mountain  portal,  where  the  current  is 
stepped  down  from  22,000  volts  to  2200  volts  and  delivered  to  the  winze 
in  the  tunnel  by  3400  feet  of  lead-armored  cable,  and  again  stepped  down 
to  440  volts  for  use  in  hoisting  and  pumping.  There  is  also  an  air 
pipe  line  from  the  Crescent,  and  two  air  receivers,  one  in  the  tunnel 
and  one  on  the  150-foot  level,  and  pumps  on  each  level.  The  mine 
yields  about  120  gallons  of  water  a  minute. 

Jamison  mine.  L.  and  J.  N.  Sobrero,  S.  Danelli  and  II.  Hodgkins 
have  been  working  this  mine  near  Johnsville  under  lease  since  Novem- 
ber, 1919.  when  the  owning  company  quit.  Fifteen  stamps  have  been 
running  two  shifts  a  day.  Ten  men  besides  the  lessees  were  employed 
in  July,  1921. 

Madra  Mines  Company  625  Market  street,  San  Francisco.  D.  W. 
Shanks,  president.  During  the  summer  of  1921  this  company  took 
options  on  the  Arcadian,  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  other  claims  in 
the  Greenville  district.  At  the  end  of  October,  the  Arcadian  and 
Pennsylvania  tunnels  had -been  retimbered  and  a  compressor  and  engine 
put  in  at  the  Arcadian.  Six  men  were  employed. 

Plumas  Eureka  mine  at  Johnsville  was  reopened  since  the  last  report 
and  20  stamps  were  put  in  operation  early  in  June,  1921.  According  to 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  37 

Chas.  D.  Stark,  Jr.,  superintendent,  late  work  has  developed  an  area  of 
67,500  square  feet  of  stoping  ground  on  the  Mohawk  flat  vein  which 
shows  an  average  width  of  four  to  seven  feet.  This  vein  is  opened 
through  a  raise  534  feet  long  from  the  Eureka  Tunnel.  Ore  is  said  to 
run  $8  to  $9  a  ton  and  to  contain  3|  per  cent  of  sulphides,  principally 
pyrite  and  galena,  and  worth  $68  a  ton.  This  is  the  most  extensively 
worked  gold  quartz  mine  in  Plumas  County. 

Plumas  Eureka  Annex  Company  is  a  Reno,  Nevada,  stock  company 
which  has  been  doing  some  work  on  four  claims  on  the  west  side  of 
Mount  Washington,  southwest  of  the  Plumas  Eureka  mine.  When 
visited  at  the  end  of  June,  1921,  there  were  two  prospect  holes,  one  10 
feet  deep,  and  the  other,  an  old  one,  about  20  feet  deep- and  about  275 
feet  apart  on  a  quartz  vein  with  a  maximum  width  of  five  feet, 
striking  north  and  dipping  west.  The  vein  is  heavily  charged  with 
sulphides,  pyrite  and  copper  sulphides  being  most  prominent.  A  short 
crosscut  was  being  driven  and  a  boarding  house  was  being  erected. 
The  claims  are  nearly  two  miles  south  of  Johnsville  on  the  Gibsonville 
road. 

Seneca  Consolidated  mine  near  Seneca  was  closed  October  20,  1921. 

Snowbound  mine.  C.  M.  Root  put  a  five-stamp  mill  on  this  prospect 
late  in  the  summer  of  1921  but  had  run  it  only  30  hours  up  to  October 
22.  The  claim  is  about  three  miles  east  of  Onion  Vallev. 

Wlieelock  mine.  Rock  milled  here  during  the  past  year  in  a  two- 
stamp  mill  is  said  to  have  not  paid.  The  claim  is  in  the  townsite  of 
Crescent  Mills. 

PLACER    MINES. 

Marguerite  Drift  mine  consists  of  11  placer  claims  covering 
about  1100  acres  in  Sees.  13,  14,  23  and  24,  T.  22  N.,  R.  9  E.,  on  the 
headwaters  of  South  Fork  of  Feather  River  at  the  head  of  Little  Grass 
Valley. 

John  and  Gilbert  McFarlane  did  considerable  prospecting  here  with- 
out getting  definite  results.  They  finally  bought  a  Keystone  drill  outfit 
in  1919  and  put  down  a  series  of  14  drill-holes,  which  gave  them  the 
location  of  the  channel  and  when  a  shaft  was  put  down  on  one  of  the 
drill-holes  it  was  found  to  be  nearly  in  the  center  of  the  pay  gravel. 
This  shaft  is  in  the  N.W.  £  of  the  S.W.  £  of  Sec.  13.  It  is  183  feet  deep, 
passing  first  through  50  feet  of  boulders  and  clay  streaks,  then  80  feet  of 
pipe  clay  and  finally  through  53  feet  of  gravel.  From  the  shaft  they 
drove  south  120  feet  through  gravel ;  from  a  point  in  this  crosscut  70 
feet  from  shaft  they  had  drifted  east  80  feet  and  west  50  feet  at  the 
time  of  the  writer's  visit  late  in  October,  1921.  The  bedrock  was  rising 
near  the  shaft  on  the  north,  and  at  the  faces  of  the  south  crosscut  and 
east  drift.  They  had  less  than  100  feet  to  go  westward  to  the  property 
line,  but  had  already  lost  bedrock  in  this  direction.  The  limited  amount 
of  gravel  exposed  at  that  time  indicated  that  the  course  of  the  channel 
was  about  west  at  that  place. 

According  to  McFarlane  Bros,  the  gravel  taken  out  of  these  workings 
up  to  that  time  had  yielded  about  $6,000.  Estimating  that  about  400 
cubic  yards  in  place  had  been  mined,  this  would  indicate  a  return  of  $15 


38  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

a  cubic  yard.  They  stated  that  the  gravel  paid  for  a  width  of  120 
feet.  It  -is  fairly  tight,  most  of  the  boulders  being  greenstone 
(amphibolite),  with  little  quartz. 

The  mine  is  equipped  with  a  45-horsepower  boiler  fired  by  wood,  a 
small  hoist,  pump,  air  compressor  and  receiver,  two  dump  sheds,  the 
largest  of  which  is  25  feet  by  45  feet,  boarding  house  and  two  cottages. 
There  is  a  good  stand  of  pine  timber  for  fuel  and  mine  timbering.  No 
regular  outside  water  supply  is  at  hand  now  but  it  is  claimed  that 
water  can  be  had  from  the  South  Fork  of  Feather  River  through  two 
miles  of  ditch  and  one-fourth  mile  of  pipe.  Melting  snow  gives  a  sup- 
ply in  the  spring.  The  mine  is  said  to  yield  about  32,000  gallons  of 
water  in  24  hours. 

Marine  Mining  Company  is  operating  the  claims  formely  called  the 
Dinsnwre  or  Edgar  mine,  which  adjoins  the  Marguerite  mine  on  the 
west.  The  two  shafts  are  672  feet  apart  on  the  same  channel  or  its 
tributaries.  The  mine  is  9.5  miles  from  La  Porte  and  contains  960 
acres  of  patented  land  in  Sees.  11,  14,  22  and  23,  T.  22  N.,  R.  9  E. 

Like  the  Marguerite  mine  it  was  prospected  by  tunnels  and  shafts 
without  success.  In  1918  a  Keystone  drill  was  used  to  put  down  a 
series  of  12  holes  in  a  length  of  1500  feet  and  the  channel  was  located. 
The  shaft  that  was  later  sunk  proved  to  be  not  in  the  deepest  part  of 
the  channel  and  is  within  500  feet  of  the  east  line  of  the  property. 
Work  has  been  carried  on  at  a  disadvantage  because  of  the  shaft  being 
on  the  rim.  The  shaft  is  84  feet  deep,  passing  through  44  feet  of  pipe 
clay  which  covers  40  feet  of  gravel.  About  400  feet  of  drifting,  prac- 
tically all  along  the  rim,  in  1919  yielded  $2,500,  which  was  a  good 
showing  for  rim  gravel.  Since  then  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
breast  gravel  west  of  the  shaft,  but  the  bedrock  sinks  here,  and  while 
the  ground  was  said  to  pay  wrell,  work  had  to  be  stopped  on  account  of 
water.  Perhaps  300  to  400  cubic  yards  were  breasted  also  on  the  west 
side  of  the  north  drift  evidently  on  the  rim.  and  this  gravel  is  said  to 
have  paid  about  $2.50  a  car.  At  time  of  visit,  in  October,  1921,  they 
were  running  a  drift  southeast  in  gravel  said  to  contain  $10  a  cubic 
yard.  There  were  drifts  north  250  feet  and  south  175  feet  and  some 
short  crosscuts,  but  the  property  has  not  yet  been  properly  opened  nor 
has  the  exact  course  of  the  channel  been  revealed  although  it  probably 
trended  southward  and  westward. 

The  gravel  is  greenish  gray,  composed  principally  of  boulders  of  hard 
amphibolite  schist  on  bedrock  of  the  same  kind,  and  there  are  much 
heavier  boulders  than  were  seen  in  the  Marguerite  mine.  Most  of  the 
gold  is  within  two  to  four  feet  above  bedrock.  The  mine  is  leased  on 
15  per  cent  royalty  to  the  South  Ford  Gold  Gravel  Mining  Company 
and  subleased  to  Maxine  Mining  Company,  of  which  John  Burmeister  is 
manager.  It  is  equipped  with  a  30-horsepower  steam  boiler,  fired  by 
wood ;  8-inch  by  9-inch  air  compressor,  Case  steam  engine,  10-horsepower 
steam  hoist,  cable  conveyor  for  delivering  the  loaded  bucket  from  the 
shaft  to  the  washing  yard,  and  boarding  house  and  cabins.  About  50 
gallons  of  water  a  minute  is  pumped  from  the  shaft.  A  nine  months 
water  supply  with  a  minimum  of  15  inches  is  claimed  and  is  taken 
from  the  creek  through  one-half  mile  of  pipe  and  ditch.  There  is  a 
good  stand  of  timber  on  the  claims  for  all  needs. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  39 

Work  by  the  Wood  Estate  Company  under  the  direction  of  J.  F. 
Buell  was  being  continued  in  October,  1921.  Prospecting  has  been  done- 
at  several  places  on  the  large  acreage  claimed.  In  the  W.  ^  of  Sec. 
18,  T.  22  N.,  R,  9  E.  the  old  Baker  tunnel,  2200  feet  long,  in  the  Sweet 
Oil  Diggings,  was  cleaned  out  but  Buell  reports  that  he  found  the  old 
upper  quartz  channel  cut  off  by  a  later  channel.  Work  done  some  years" 
ago  near  Buell 's  camp  in  Little  Grass  Valley  included  a  shaft  80  feet 
deep,  a  drift  800  feet  and  an  incline  33  feet.  On  drilling  west  and 
south  of  these  workings  the  bedrock,  according  to  Buell,  was  found  to 
be  165  feet  below  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  and  the  work  was  stopped. 
At  time  of  visit  he  was  drilling  with  a  Keystone  drill  4300  feet  due  west 
of  the  Maxine  shaft,  in  search  of  the  channel  which  he  thinks  runs  from 
the  Maxine  westward. 

Sierra  County. 

No  field  work  has  been  done  by  the  writer  in  Sierra  County  during 
the  past  year,  as  other  members  of  the  Bureau's  staff  were  busy  in  the 
county  a  large  part  of  the  summer,  visiting  the  placer  mines  in  prepara- 
tion for  a  new  report. 

Progress  in  quartz  mining  has  been  marked  by  the  erection  of  a  10- 
stamp  mill  at  the  K ate  Hardy  mine,  two  miles  southwest  of  Forest ;  the 
installation  of  more  machinery  at  the  Sixteen  to  One  mine  near 
Alleghany ;  the  reopening  of  the  Rainbow  mine  near  Alleghany  and  the 
starting  up  of  the  mill  at  the  Tiglitner  mine  at  Alleghany  late  in  the 
year. 

The  Mugwump  Drift  mine  in  the  Alleghany  district  has  been  pro- 
ducing coarse  gold  and  nuggets  during  the  late  summer  and  fall. 

The  Table  Rock  mine  made  considerable  production  during  the  past 
two  years.  At  present  the  working  tunnel  is  being  extended  to  prepare 
for  more  breasting  of  gravel. 

Tuolumne   County. 

Belmont  Sliawmut  mine.  Retimbering  the  shaft  and  other  repair 
work  was  carried  on  during  the  summer  while  the  management  was 
waiting  for  conditions  which  would  justify  them  in  reopening.  Since 
shutting  down  this  company  has  been  experimenting  on  a  plan  for 
treating  the  concentrate  at  the  property. 

Bonanza  mine.  Late  in  the  year  it  was  reported  that  this  well  known 
pocket  mine  at  Sonora  is  to  be  reopened. 

Buckhorn  prospect.  This  is  about  three  miles  south  of  Jacksonville 
near  Tuolumne  River  and  adjoining  the  McCormick  mine.  In  1920 
about  600  feet  of  dirft  was  driven  on  a  vein  striking  east,  which  was 
thought  to  be  one  of  the  system  of  ci'oss  veins  that  cut  across  the  main 
vein  in  the  McCormick  mine.  No  ore  was  developed  and  the  prospect 
was  idle  in  1921. 

Clio  mine.  Prospecting  and  development  continued  at  this  mine 
during  the  year.  Work  was  in  progress  on  the  600,  500  and  200-foot 
levels  early  in  the  summer.  It  was  claimed  that  a  block  of  low-grade  ore 
had  been  proven  between  the  600-foot  level  and  tunnel  level  and  stock 
was  being  sold  to  finance  the  building  of  a  new  mill. 


40  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

Exi><  /•///('  ntnl  mine.  Conlin  Bros.,  Columbia,  owners.  This  mine  is 
'  on  the  south  side  of  the  canyon  of  the  South  Fork  of  Stanislaus  River, 
a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  Columbia  by  road. 

The  vein  is  a  fissure  filling  of  quartz,  limestone  and  dike  rock,  with 
pay-shoots  on  the  intersections  of  diorite  porphyry  dikes  with  the  vein. 
The  footwall  is  limestone  and  schist  and  the  hanging  wall  is  cavernous 
and  broken  limestone,  full  of  water  and  mud  holes. 

The  shaft  is  400  feet  deep  on  dip  of  vein,  45  degrees  northeast. 
There  are  six  levels  and  the  vein  has  been  drifted  a  maximum  distance 
of  400  feet  south  and  170  feet  north  of  shaft.  The  principal  ore-shoot, 
100  feet  long  and  2£  feet  thick,  has  yielded  $60.000.  The  richest  ore 
on  the  upper  levels  carried  free  gold  associated  with  azurite,  but  in 
depth  there  is  also  auriferous  pyrite,  galena  and  chalcopyrite  besides  the 
free  gold.  A  crosscut  tunnel  2800  feet  long  drains  the  water  from  the 
mine  to  within  75  feet  of  the  bottom  of  the  shaft;  it  lacks  300  feet  of 
reaching  the  vein,  but  the  drainage  is  effected  through  natural  channels 
in  the  limestone.  Though  worked  by  lessees  only  in  a  small  way  lately, 
the  mine  is  said  to  have  paid  better  than  all  expenses  for  several  years. 
There  is  a  5-stamp  mill,  air  compressor  and  blower  at  the  drain  tunnel 
portal  and  a  3-stamp  mill  at  the  collar  of  shaft.  Power  is  furnished 
by  water  bought  from  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company.  Another  pay- 
shoot  is  thought  by  the  owners  to  lie  north  of  the  present  workings,  as 
the  surface  there  is  said  to  have  been  rich  placer  ground  in  the  early 
days. 

Ifarrhnan  prospect  is  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  Jacksonville,  with 
the  main  road  and  the  Tuolumne  River  passing  the  claims.  The  three 
locations  are  at  a  narrow  place  on  the  mother  lode.  When  visited  early 
last  summer,  there  were  two  shafts,  an  old  one  200  feet  deep  and  a  new 
one  130  feet  deep,  which  are  400  feet  apart.  There  are  short  drifts  each 
way  from  the  bottom  of  each  shaft,  and  116  feet  of  crosscut  into  the 
hanging  wall  from  the  new  shaft.  There  are  two  veins,  the  Bull  quartz 
vein  of  talc  schist,  rusty  quartz  and  mariposite,  and  the  Hanging  Wall 
vein  where  the  ore  is  found,  in  a  stringer  lead.  The  dump  from  the  new 
shaft  is  said  to  assay  $6.40  a  ton  or  better. 

Compressor  and  hoist  are  run  by  electric  power.  This  and  other  mines 
on  the  mother  lode  will  be  discussed  more  in  detail  in  a  forthcoming 
report. 

Mangante  mine.  E.  IT.  Althoff  and  W.  G.  Busick  were  reported  to 
have  leased  this  mine  at  Jamestown  in  November,  and  to  be  preparing 
to  sink  the  shaft,  which  was  put  down  150  feet  several  years  ago. 

Mcdormick  mine.  M.  McCormick  Company,  owners.  It  is  in  Sees. 
8  and  9,  T.  1  S.,  R.  15  E.,  three  and  a  half  miles  by  road  from  Jackson- 
ville on  the  steep  north  side  of  the  canyon  of  Tuolumne  River,  two  miles 
from  the  Hetch  Hetchy  Railroad.  The  main  vein  strikes  northwest  and 
dips  southwest  50  degrees,  filling  a  fissure  in  Calaveras  schists.  It  is 
solid  quartz,  varying  from  3  to  15  feet  wide.  The  pay  ore  is  mostly 
where  minor  veins  and  seams,  striking  east  and  dipping  northeast, 
cross  the  main  fissure. 

The  vein  had  been  followed  1800  feet  by  an  adit;  which  was  about  600 
feet  below  the  apex  of  the  vein  at  the  face.  A  winze  had  also  been  put 
down  180  feet,  following  the  vein  below  the  adit  and  1400  feet  from  the 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  41 

portal.  From  the  bottom  of  this  winze  the  vein  had  been  drifted  on 
120  feet  each  way  at  time  of  visit.  Pay  shoots  had  been  stoped  from  a 
few  feet  to  100  feet  in  length  along  the  adit  and  some  stoping  had  been 
done  along  the  winze  between  the  adit  and  the  bottom,  but  compara- 
tively little  above  the  adit. 

A  lower  adit  which  is  500  feet  below  the  main  adit  and  100  feet  above 
the  river,  had  been  driven  300  feet  but  had  not  yet  reached  the  main 
vein  of  quartz. 

Ore  is  crushed  in  a  Denver  roller  mill  having  a  capacity  of  one  ton  an 
hour.  The  mine  is  supplied  with  electric  power.  There  is  an  air  hoist 
at  the  winze.  The  production  for  four  years  past  is  reported  to  have 
been  $160,000. 

National  mine,  near  Priests,  was  being  equipped  early  in  the  summer 
with  a  Huntington  mill,  rock  breaker  and  gas  engine,  preparatory  to 
milling  ore.  The  mine  had  previously  been  equipped  with  a  hoist,  com- 
pressor and  engine,  and  exploratory  work  had  been  going  on  a  year  or 
more.  There  is  an  adit  about  500  feet  long  and  other  shorter  workings. 

Patterson  mine.  This  old  mine  just  north  of  Tuttletown,  has  been 
equipped  with  a  20-stamp  mill,  a  hoist  with  a  depth  capacity  of  2000 
feet,  compressor  and  buildings  and  is  about  ready  for  operation  after  an 
idleness  of  thirteen  years. 

The  shaft  was  formerly  sunk  820  feet  and  the  vein  had  been  stoped 
for  a  length  of  500  feet  and  a  depth  of  450  feet.  Recent  development  is 
said  to  have  blocked  out  ore  to  the  750-foot  level  on  the  Patterson  vein 
and  some  encouraging  prospects  are  reported  from  the  parallel  Lennan 
vein  where  it  has  been  crosscut.  Adjoining  claims  on  the  northwest 
and  east  have  been  taken  under  option. 

Pennsylvania  and  Carlotta  mines,  near  the  town  of  Tuolumne  on  the 
East  Belt,  were  active  again  in  the  fall.  Stoping  and  milling  from  the 
Carlotta  began  in  August  and  at  that  time  the  adjoining  Pennsylvania 
was  being  unwatered  by  the  same  company  preparatory  to  deepening 
the  shaft.  Fred  Vahrenkamp  has  a  lease  on  the  claims. 

Rawliide  mine.  Frank  Zuver  of  Oakland  took  a  lease  and  option  on 
this  old  property  near  Jamestown  late  in  April,  and  when  the  mine  was 
visited  shortly  after,  M.  H.  Knowles  was  in  charge  of  work.  He  had 
found  what  he  claimed  was  a  good  prospect  on  the  heavy  quartz  vein 
between  the  two  old  shafts  and  expected  to  sink  on  this. 

United  mines,  on  the  East  Belt  two  miles  from  Tuolumne,  have  been 
active  during  1921.  The  Dead  Horse  shaft  has  been  deepened  and  the 
vein  was  reported  to  show  up  well  on  the  1850-foot  level  late  in  the  fall. 

Prospective  operations  were  promised  at  a  number  of  other  old  quartz 
mines  and  prospects  in  the  county  during  the  summer.  Among  these 
are  the  Contention  mine  on  Knight  Creek,  the  Phoenix  on  the  East  Belt, 
four  miles  southeast  of  Columbia,  and  the  Excelsior,  near  Confidence. 

DRIFT    MINES. 

Monarch  Drift  mine,  near  Confidence,  has  been  prospected  during  the 
year.  In  August  rim  gravel  was  encountered  and  an  incline  was  being 
put  down  on  it. 

Sledge  Drift  mine,  near  Confidence,  is  to  be  worked  this  fall. 


42  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

Springfield  Tunnel  and  Development  Company  late  in  the  fall  had 
completed  their  drain  tunnel  to  the  point  where  good  pay  gravel  had 
been  struck  several  years  ago.  This  prospect  was  obtained  in  a  shaft 
which  had  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  the  water,  and  the  drain  tunnel 
was  driven  to  permit  working  the  ground. 

Yuba  County. 

The  Horseshoe  Quartz  mine  is  near  Challenge,  and  is  reached  from 
the  Marysville  and  La  Porte  road.  Late  in  October,  1921,  Joseph 
Supple  of  Portland,  Oregon,  was  putting  up  a  5-stamp  mill  on  the 
property. 

The  Kingbird  mine  is  a  mile  northeast  of  Clipper  Mills.  Gil  S.  Pey- 
ton has  a  lease  and  option  on  it.  In  October,  1921,  he  was  just  com- 
pleting a  mill  of  five  1050-pound  stamps  near  the  Little  Kingbird  shaft. 

The  Little  Kingbird  vein  on  which  he  is  working  strikes  north  and 
dips  east,  varying  from  one  foot  to  nine  feet  but  averaging  three  feet 
in  width.  There  is  an  old  .caved  shaft  which  was  sunk  on  the  vein, 
to  125  feet.  A  tunnel  450  feet  long  is  a  crosscut  for  350  feet  and  a 
drift  on  the  vein  for  100  feet,  meeting  the  shaft  at  a  depth  of  about  100 
feet.  Pay  heretofore  has  come  from  the  shaft  and  small  stope  and  has 
been  pockety. 

DREDGERS. 

Yuba  County 's  leadership  in  the  state  as  a  gold  producer  for  several 
years  past  has  been  due  to  the  dredgers  operated  on  Yuba  River  near 
Hammonton,  Marigold  and  Parks  Bar  by  Yuba  Consolidated  Goldfields, 
Marysville  Dredging  Company,  and  Pacific  Gold  Dredging  Company, 
respectively.  These  operations  have  been  covered  in  our  recent  Bulletin 
No.  85.  Gold  dredging  operations  on  Yuba  River  have  been  on  a  larger 
scale  than  anywhere  else  in  California  and  have  yielded  about  $3,000,000 
annually  for  eleven  years  past. 

.  IRIDIUM   AND   PLATINUM. 

Iridium  and  platinum  are  produced  from  gold  dredging  operations 
on  Yuba,  American  and  other  rivers  of  the  district,  and  occasionally  by 
the  drift  mines,  but  there  is  no  property  that  is  worked  separately  for 
these  metals.  Iridium  occurs  usually  alloyed  with  osmium  as  osmir- 
idium.  The  platinum  metals  found  in  dredging  on  American  River 
appear  to  contain  more  iridium  than  is  obtained  elsewhere  in  the  district. 

SILVER. 

Silver  is  produced  in  this  district  almost  entirely  from  gold  and  cop- 
per mining  as  a  by-product  of  refining  the  metals  and  smelting  the  sul- 
phide concentrates. 

Encjels  Copper  Mining  Company,  with  a  monthly  silver  production 
of  15,000  ounces  or  more  at  present,  is  the  principal  producer. 

The  mines  of  Alpine  County  at  one  time  produced  some  silver  but  have 
been  idle  for  a  great  many  years. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  43 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT. 

Most  of  the  metals  are  found  to  some  extent  in  the  San  Francisco  dis- 
trict, although  primarily  few  of  the  counties  in  this  group  would  be 
included  in  the  list  of  our  metal  producers.  This  is  explained  by  the 
fact  that  while  they  lie  principally  in  the  great  central  or  coastal  valleys, 
their  limits,  almost  without  exception,  extend  into  the  foothills  of  the 
mountainous  and  mineral -bearing  regions. 

The  one  metal  in  which  this  district  does  predominate  is  quicksilver. 
During  recent  years  ninety -eight  per  cent  of  the  entire  production  of 
the  state  has  come  from  the  hills  of  the  Coast  Range  between  the  limits 
of  Mendocino  on  the  north  and  Monterey  on  the  south. 

Manganese  is  also  found  principally  in  the  Coast  Ranges,  although  the 
mining  of  this  metal  has  receded  to  a  position  of  insignificance  since  the 
cessation  of  the  war  demand. 

COPPER. 

The  southern  extremity  of  the  so-called  foothill  copper  belt  traverses 
Madera,  Mariposa  and  Fresno  counties.  Even  in  times  of  prosperity 
for  the  copper  industry,  the  output  from  these  districts  was  small. 
During  the  past  year  there  was  recorded  the  production  of  a  little  copper 
from  Madera  and  Mariposa,  and  also  a  small  amount  from  Mono  County, 
which  was  included  in  some  of  the  high-grade  silver  ores  shipped  prin- 
cipally from  Benton  to  the  smelters. 

GOLD   AND   SILVER. 

The  gold  and  silver  producers  in  this  district  are  Fresno,  Madera, 
Mariposa,  Mono,  Sacramento,  San  Joaquin  and  Stanislaus  counties. 
As  far  as  total  value  is  concerned,  the  bulk  of  the  yellow  metal 
comes  from  dredgers  operating  near  Folsom  and  Natoma  in  Sacra- 
mento County;  east  of  Stockton  in  San  Joaquin  County,  and  at  La 
Grange  in  Stanislaus  County.  Mariposa  and  Madera,  as  well  as  Mono, 
contain  immense  mineralized  areas  and  are  true  mining  counties  in 
every  sense  of  the  word,  but,  as  gold  is  their  chief  product,  they  have 
suffered  with  the  rest  of  the  gold  mining  industry  of  the  country  during 
recent  years,  when  nothing  could  be  done  to  offset  high  costs  of  equip- 
ment, supplies  and  labor,  which  they  were  forced  to  meet.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  conditions  are  becoming  more  encouraging  as  the 
year  1921  draws  to  a  close  and  evidences  are  being  given  on  every  hand 
of  the  distinct  revival  of  this  branch  of  the  mineral  industry. 

Probably  the  fact  of  greatest  moment  that  can  be  recorded  relative  to 
gold  mining  in  this  district  is  the  partition  of  the  famous  Mariposa  Grant, 
which  has  for  many  years  owned  about  forty-four  thousand  acres,  con- 
taining the  choicest  mining  land  in  Mariposa  County.  Fifty-six  hun- 
dred acres,  taking  in  fourteen  separate  sections  in  the  southern  portion  of 
the  grant,  have  been  purchased  by  Messrs.  T.  E.  Kelso  and  W.  H. 
Holmes,  both  of  whom  were  formerly  connected  with  the  Arizona  Copper 
Company.  These  gentlemen  are  already  reopening  the  famous  Prince- 
ton mine  and  are  laying  plans  for  an  active  campaign  of  development 
and  production.  Included  in  their  property,  in  addition  to  Princeton, 
are  the  Elizabeth,  Alice,  Mariposa  and  Long  Mary  mines,  all  of  which 
have  been  big  producers  in  the  past. 


44  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

The  above-mentioned  sale  does  not  include  the  mines  recently  leased 
on  the  northern  end  of  the  grant  near  Bagby.  This  lease,  which  is  for 
a  period  of  three  years,  has  been  granted  to  Messrs.  William  T.  Jones  and 
W.  F.  Deaner,  both  well  known  along  the  Mother  Lode  for  many  years. 
Their  lease  includes  the  Pine  Tree  and  Josephine  properties  and  covers 
an  area  of  approximately  sixteen  hundred  acres.  They  contemplate 
the  immediate  erection  of  a  20-stamp  mill. 

Three  gold  mining  properties  have  been  actively  operated  in  Mariposa 
County  without  interruption  during  the  past  year.  These  are  the 
Mountain  King  with  a  30-stamp  mill,  the  Virginia  Belmont  with  a 
10-stamp  mill,  and  the  Original  with  a  10-stamp  mill.  It  is  understood 
that  the  Mountain  King  has  been  indefinitely  closed  down  (December, 
1921),  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  reported  that  .the  Virginia  Belmont 
will  double  the  capacity  of  their  reduction  plant.  The  latter  property, 
which  lies  between  Coulterville  and  Bagby,  has  a  shoot  of  ore  developed 
on  the  nine  hundred  level  which  averages  at  least  three  feet  in  width 
and  which  is  said  to  plate  from  fifteen  to  forty  dollars  per  ton. 

Other  activities  in  reference  to  quartz  mining  have  been  reported  to 
the  Bureau  since  it  has  become  too  late  to  verify  them  in  the  field,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  reported  reopening  of  the  famous  May 
Lundy  mine  in  Mono  County;  a  strike  of  bonanza  ore  in  the  Success 
mine  in  the  Masonic  district ;  the  prosperous  condition  of  the  Golden 
Gate  mine  near  the  California-Nevada  line  above  Coleville,  Mono 
County ;  and  the  proposed  rehabilitation  of  the  Gambetta  and  Josephine 
mines  in  Madera  County. 

Dredge  production  in  this  district,  taken  particularly  in  Sacramento 
County,  has  been  maintained  at  almost  a  normal  rate  and  the  LaGrange 
Gold  Dredge  Company  launched  a  new  boat  at  their  property  on  Decem- 
ber 18,  1921,  near  the  town  of  LaGrange,  Stanislaus  County.  This  new 
dredger  is  being  built  for  the  company  by  the  Yuba  Manufacturing 
Company.  It  will  have  nine  cubic-foot  buckets,  as  compared  to  seven 
cubic  feet,  the  capacity  of  the  old  dredge,  which  sunk  February  1,  1921. 
The  company  only  produced  gold  during  the  month  of  January,  1921,  but 
it  is  hoped  to  operate  continuously  during  the  coming  year.  It  is  esti- 
mated by  the  company  that  about  twelve  million  yards  of  gravel  remain 
to  be  worked  on  their  ground. 

LEAD. 

Very  little  lead  is  found  in  this  district,  the  only  production  during 
the  past  year  being  recorded  as  a  by-product  from  the  gold  and  silver 
ores  of  Mariposa  and  Mono  counties. 

MANGANESE. 

Manganese  mining  has  been  stagnant  throughout  the  entire  state 
during  the  past  year.  Its  production  was  always  small  up  to  1915  when 
the  unprecedented  war  demands  stimulated  the  development  of  man- 
ganese prospects  to  meet  the  condition  temporarily  established.  Prob- 
ably 75  per  cent  of  this  metal  came  from  the  San  Francisco  district,  the 
several  counties  contributing  to  the  output  being  Alameda,  Lake,  Men- 
docino,  San  Joaquin  and  Stanislaus. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,    1922.  4.5 

QUICKSILVER. 

As  previously  mentioned,  the  most  important  metal  in  the  district 
being  discussed  has  always  been  quicksilver.  San  Benito  and  Santa 
Clara  counties  alone  contain  mines  which  have  more  than  equaled  the 
production  record  of  all  the  rest  of  the  United  States.  Financial  and 
economic  conditions  which  have  prevailed  during  the  past  year  have 
brought  this  branch  of  mining  practically  to  a  standstill.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  total  output  for  1921  will  not  exceed  2400  flasks — this,  as 
compared  with  10,000  flasks  in  1920,  15,000  in  1919,  22,000  in  1918, 
and  24,000  in  1917.  Never  since  records  were  first  kept  of  the  mining 
of  this  metal  in  California  (in  1850)  has  the  annual  production  been 
less  than  10,000  flasks.  It  has  often  exceeded  a  figure  as  high  as  seven 
times  that  amount. 

LOS  ANGELES  DISTRICT. 

Copper,  gold,  iron,  lead,  manganese,  molybdenum,  quicksilver,  silver, 
tungsten  and  zinc  are  the  principal  metals  found  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  state. 

With  the  exception  of  silver,  never  in  the  history  of  mining  in  Cali- 
fornia has  there  been  so  little  activity.  However,  the  last  three  months 
of  this  year  have  shown  a  marked  awakening,  as  regards  gold  and  silver 
mining  in  particular. 

The  high  costs  of  labor  and  materials  which  prevailed  during  the  war 
and  after  are  now  coming  down  to  a  basis  which  allows  some  margin  of 
profit  to  the  miner  of  low  grade  gold  ores.  If  railroad  rates  could  be 
reduced  to  approach  the  pre-war  level,  it  would  result  in  a  wonderful 
revival  of  the  mining  industry.  The  railroads  have  promised  a  reduc- 
tion in  rates,  but  to  what  extent  is  unknown  at  present. 

With  reference  to  the  'war'  minerals,  manganese,  molybdenum  and 
tungsten,  there  is  little  hope  for  their  mining  and  development  at 
present. 

Their  importance  and  value  were  enhanced  by  the  war  and,  with  that 
passed,  a  comparatively  small  tonnage  will  furnish  the  needs  of  the  com- 
mercial world,  and  only  those  deposits  having  low  costs  and  transporta- 
tion charges  can  hope  to  compete  for  the  market  which  exists. 

COPPER. 

While  copper  has  never  been  mined  extensively  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  state,  the  war  resulted  in  opening  up  many  small  high-grade  veins. 
With  the  slump  in  the  copper  market,  due  to  over-production,  these  were 
all  forced  to  suspend  operations,  so  that  1921  saw  no  activity  in  this 
metal.  With  the  big  copper  surplus  reduced,  the  large  copper  com- 
panies in  the  United  States  expect  to  resume  partial  production  in  the 
early  part  of  1922  and  some  revival  in  this  district  is  anticipated  during 
the  coming  year. 

GOLD. 

While  it  may  not  be  common  knowledge,  gold  was  known  to  exist  in 
Southern  California  many  years  before  Marshall  discovered  the  yellow 
metal  on  the  American  River.  The  early  Mexicans  not  only  worked  the 
streams  and  gulches  for  placer,  but  also  many  quartz  veins,  and  in  the 
Pirn  region  of  Ventura  County  are  seen  old  Mexican  workings. 


4g  CALIFORNIA   STATE   MINING  BUREAU. 

However,  the  Randsburg  district  has  been  the  most  important  gold 
field  in  the  southern  section  of  the  state,  and  its  chief  producer  has 
been  the  Yellow  Aster  mine.  During  the  last  sixteen  years  this  property 
has  produced  over  $9,000,000  in  gold  bullion  from  approximately 
2,500,000  tons  of  ore.  The  property  is  equipped  with  a  100-stamp  mill 
and  during  1921  thirty  stamps  have  been  in  operation.  This  company 
contemplates  resumption  at  full  capacity  the  coming  year.  It  has  an 
immense  tonnage  of  low  grade  ore,  which  can  be  mined  by  quarrying 
methods.  By  sorting  out  a  small  percentage  of  waste  rock,  it  expects 
to  have  a  mill  head  of  $2.50  per  ton  and  proposes  to  amalgamate  at  least 
$2  of  this  value.  With  cheap  mining  and  low  milling  charges,  the 
Yellow  Aster,  in  1922,  should  again  take  its  place,  not  only  as  one  of 
the  large  gold  producers  of  California,  but  also,  and  more  important, 
as  a  substantial  dividend  payer. 

The  Black  Hawk  mine  is  another  in  the  Randsburg  district  which,  in 
1922,  will  again  become  a  gold  producer.  At  present,  the  mill  is  being 
remodeled  on  up-to-date  lines  and  will  soon  be  put  in  operation. 

Many  other  properties  in  this  district  are  being  reopened,  as  well  as 
having  their  plants  remodeled,  and  1922  should  see  much  activity  in 
the  district  as  a  whole. 

In  San  Bernardino  County,  Bear  Valley  district,  the  Gold  Mountain 
mine  resumed  operations  in  1921  and  shipped  its  first  bullion  during 
October. 

During  the  year,  the  Tropico  Mining  and  Milling  Company,  in  the 
Mojave  mining  district,  was  leased  by  H.  C.  Burton  and  is  now  being 
operated  by  him. 

The  Exposed  Treasure  mine,  Kern  County,  has  been  acquired  by  the 
Standard  Gold  Mining  Company.  The  new  company  proposes  to  reopen 
the  mines,  remodel  the  mill,  and  introduce  modern  electrical  power 
equipment.  Thus,  1922  should  see  the  Exposed  Treasure  once  again  in 
the  ranks  of  the  gold  producers. 

Vanderbilt  District.  In  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  San  Bernardino 
County,  near  the  Nevada  line,  lies  the  Vanderbilt  district,  the  principal 
properties  in  which  have  been  owned  by  the  Campbell  Estate  till 
recently.  The  properties  have  now  been  acquired  by  the  Vanderbilt 
Mining  Company.  The  company  intends  to  build  a  100-ton  milling 
plant  in  1922.  The  ore  is  said  to  average  $20  gold  and  five  ounces  silver 
per  ton. 

Last  September,  considerable  excitement  was  caused  by  the  reported 
discovery  of  gold  in  the  Santa  Monica  Mountains  near  the  Malibu  Ranch. 
It  was  reported  as  found  on  the  Kincaid-Decker  Ranch.  An  investiga- 
tion by  the  Bureau  did  not  confirm  the  claims  of  the  discoverers,  how- 
ever, as  only  traces  of  gold  were  found  in  the  samples  taken  by  the 
Bureau's  engineer. 

IRON. 

During  the  year,  a  small  tonnage  of  iron  ore  was  shipped  from  the 
Armstrong  and  Doran  Iron  mine,  eight  miles  northwest  of  Cadiz,  San 
Bernardino  County.  This  was  sent  to  the  Llewellyn  Iron  Works  at 
Torrance. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  £J 

There  have  been  many  rumors  current  during  the  year  that  some  one 
of  the  large  eastern  steel  interests  proposed  building  a  steel  plant  in 
Southern  California.  When  investigated  no  confirmation  of  these 
rumors  could  be  obtained. 

LEAD. 

There  was  but  little  activity  in  lead  mining.  The  low  price  current 
during  the  year  made  it  impossible  for  companies  to  operate  at  a  profit. 
An  instance  of  this  is  the  Darwin  Development  Company,  in  Inyo 
County.  After  completing  a  new  reduction  plant  they  were  forced  to 
suspend  operations,  due  to  high  costs  of  labor  and  supplies  and  low 
price  of  lead.  It  is  possible  this  company  may  resume  work  the  coming 
year. 

QUICKSILVER. 

The  Cuddeback  Quicksilver  mine,  in  Kern  County,  three  miles  from 
Woodford  Station,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  leased  by  John  T. 
Bernard  and  associates,  proposes  starting  operations  the  coming  year. 

SILVER. 

On  April  12,  1919,  Hamp  Williams  discovered  the  so-called  Kelly 
silver  mine,  about  two  miles  east  of  Johannesburg,  now  known  as  the 
California  Rand  Silver,  Incorporated.  It  was,  however,  during  1921, 
that  its  large  production  silenced  the  pessimists,  and  all  agreed  that'  it 
was  a  mine  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  not  merely  a  bunch  of  high- 
grade  silver  ore. 

The  record  of  this  property  is  phenomenal,  it  having  produced,  from 
April  12,  1919,  to  November  1,  1921,  over  $2,500,000  from  25,000  tons 
of  ore  shipped,  and  paid  dividends  amounting  to  over  $1 ,000,000  in  this 
period.  This  is  exclusive  of  the  Grady  lease,  which  has  also  shipped  over 
$1,000,000  in  ore.  And  this  came  from  a  block  of  ground  only  120'  x 
120'  x  450'  in  depth. 

The  California  Rand  Silver,  Incorporated,  completed  and  put  in  opera- 
tion in  December  a  100-ton  flotation  mill,  equipped  with  eighteen  mineral 
separation  cells  for  the  treatment  of  its  low  grade  silver  ores,  of  which 
there  are  at  least  100,000  tons,  averaging  20  ounces  of  silver  per  ton 
ready  for  treatment. 

When  it  is  realized  that  20  per  cent  of  the  gross  output  of  $2,500,000, 
or  $500,000,  was  paid  for  freight  and  treatment  charges,  according  to 
the  management,  on  25,000  tons  shipped,  it  can  be  readily  understood 
why  the  company  is  anxious  to  treat  its  own  ores. 

The  California  Rand  Silver,  Incorporated,  has  now  over  16,000  feet 
of  development  work.  The  property  is  opened  up  by  three  shafts,  the 
deepest  of  which  is  close  to  800  feet  vertical,  and  has  eleven  levels. 

It  is  capitalized  for  $1,280,000,  of  $1  share  par  value,  and  is  under  the 
efficient  management  of  Mr.  Meroney. 

To  the  east  of  the  California  Rand  Silver,  Incorporated,  lies  the 
Coyote  claim,  owned  by  the  Randsburg  Silver  Mining  Company.  Messrs. 
Kelly  and  Blanc,  two  of  the  largest  stockholders  in  the  Kelly  mine,  are 
the  moving  spirits  in  this  property. 

The  property  is  well  equipped  for  systematic  development  work,  and 
is  in  charge  of  Mr.  M.  B.  Parker. 


48  CALIFORNIA   STATK   MIXING   BUREAU. 

It  is  developed  by  one  vertical  shaft  650  feet  deep.  Ore  was  first  cut 
at  a  depth  of  470  feet  in  the  shaft.  At  a  depth  of  500  feet  a  crosscut 
was  run  southwest  540  feet,  where  it  cut  a  four-foot  vein,  running  north 
and  south.  Two  samples  cut  across  the  vein  in  two-foot  sections  gave 
147  and  60  ounces  silver  per  ton.  The  company  has  now  commenced 
shipping  to  the  smelter. 

Randsburg  Mint .  I  ncorporated.  To  the  southwest  of  the  Coyote  claim 
are  the  holdings  of  this  company,  consisting  of  four  claims.  The  prop- 
erty is  well  equipped  for  deep  development.  It  has  one  vertical  shaft, 
known  as  the  "Bisbee,"  588  feet  deep.  At  a  depth  of  450  feet  four 
feet  of  ore  was  cut,  assaying  23  ounces  silver  per  ton.  R.  R.  Bray  is 
manager  of  the  property. 

Elkins  and  Flynn.  To  the  northeast  of  the  Coyote  claim  is  a  group 
of  claims  being  developed  by  Elkins  and  Flynn.  Two  diamond  drill 
holes  were  put  down  on  this  ground  in  each  of  which  it  is  claimed  ore 
was  cut  before  reaching  a  depth  of  500  feet. 

Miscellaneous.  Besides  the  above  mentioned  properties,  at  least  a 
do/en  other  properties  are  being  developed  by  shafts  and  diamond  drill- 
ing and  the  coming  year  should  see  intense  activity  in  this  new  silver 
district. 

There  is  only  one  element  that  may  retard  development  and  that  is 
mining  litigation,  due  to  the  'apex'  and  '  extralateral '  feature  of  our 
mining  law.  If  wisdom  prevails,  however,  the  various  contestants  will 
settle  their  differences  out  of  court,  to  the  advantage  of  all  concerned. 

Calico  Mining  District.  Several  properties  were  worked  on  a  small 
scale  in  this  district.  Reduced  costs  and  dollar  silver  per  ounce,  guar- 
anteed under  the  Pittman  Act,  allowed  these  to  operate. 

ZINC. 

The  Cerro  Oordo  Mines  of  Inyo  County,  the  largest  zinc  producers, 
were  not  operated  during  the  year. 


STRUCTURAL  MATERIALS. 
REDDING  DISTRICT. 

The  value  of  the  structural  materials  produced  in  this  district 
varies  greatly  from  year  to  year  in  close  concordance  with  the  con- 
struction of  highways,  jetties  and  breakwaters,  and  general  building 
operations. 

In  Del  Norte,  Humboldt,  Tehama  and  Lassen  counties  the  brick,  tile 
and  miscellaneous  stone  produced  frequently  surpass  the  metallic  min- 
erals in  value. 

Cement,  chromite,  granite,  lime,  marble  and  sandstone  also  come  under 
this  classification,  and  with  the  exception  of  cement,  have  been  produced 
to  a  limited  extent  in  the  Northern  California  District.  No  changes  of 
special  significance  were  recorded  in  this  branch  of  the  industry  during 
1921,  and  aside  from  the  crushed  rock  used  on  road  construction,  there 
was  little  activity. 

Although  there  are  no  cement  plants  in  the  district,  it  is  believed 
that  sufficient  favorable  factors  surround  the  immense  limestone  deposits 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  49 

in  Shasta  County  to  warrant  a  special  study  of  the  opportunity  they 
offer.  Among  these  are :  an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  of  clean  lime- 
stone, standing  in  an  excellent  position  for  economical  quarrying ;  large 
shale  deposits,  easily  mined,  in  close  proximity ;  good  plant  site ;  water 
for  power  or  other  purpose,  also  hydro-electric  power  already  available 
within  three  miles ;  a  good  market  territory  and  transportation  facilities, 
and  cheap  coal  from  local  deposits  which  can  be  utilized  direct  in 
powdered  form,  or  for  the  manufacture  of  producer  gas. 

BRICK   AND   CLAY. 

Joseph  Champion,  Jr.,  and  I.  R.  Wells  of  Dunsmuir,  opened  up  a 
brickyard  and  engaged  in  burning  several  hundred  thousand  brick  to 
supply  the  local  demand.  The  quality  is  said  to  be  good. 

CHROMITE. 

No  chrome  has  been  moving  in  this  district  during  the  vear. 

GRANITE. 

'Black'  granite,  a  variety  valued  for  monumental  and  decorative 
purposes,  was  first  reported  as  occurring  in  the  district  during  the  cur- 
rent year. 

AUBURN  DISTRICT. 

The  structural  materials  that  are  produced  in  the  Auburn  Field 
Division  include  brick  and  tile,  chromite,  granite,  lime,  marble,  slate, 
and  miscellaneous  stone.  Brick  and  tile  and  various  other  clay  products 
used  in  building  are  produced  at  Lincoln,  Placer  County,  on  a  large 
scale  and  fire  brick  is  made  near  lone,  Amador  County.  Chromite  was 
mined  during  the  war  in  every  county  in  the  group,  but  during  the  past 
year  has  been  produced  from  only  one  property  near  Towle,  Placer 
County.  The  granite  quarries  at  Penryn  and  Rocklin  were  extensively 
worked  for  nearly  thirty  years,  beginning  in  the  sixties,  but  during  the 
year  past  have  done  little  business,  although  they  still  have  large  reserves 
of  good  granite.  Limestone  and  marble  are  abundant  in  the  district. 
Limestone  quarries  have  been  most  extensively  operated  in  El  Dorado 
County,  and  large  deposits  of  black  roofing  slate  are  also  found  in  that 
county.  Tuolumne  County  has  two  flourishing  marble  quarries  which 
turn  out  marble  of  various  coloring,  ranging  from  pure  white  to  dark, 
and  including  a  pink  marble.  The  piles  of  old  dredger  tailings  con- 
sisting of  cobbles,  at  Oroville,  offer  a  cheap  source  of  crushed  rock. 

All  these  properties  have  been  described  in  our  past  publications,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred. 

CHROMITE. 

Dan  Sullivan  of  Alta,  Placer  County,  has  mined  several  carloads  of 
high  grade  chromite  during  the  year  and  has  made  a  few  sales.  He  has 
considerable  ore  mined  ready  for  sale  and  more  in  sight  in  the  mine. 
The  property  is  located  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  a  loading  point  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  east  of  Towle.  The  ore  shipped  con- 
tained 50  per  cent  Cr203  or  better. 


50  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT. 
BRICK. 

Brick  production  in  the  San  Francisco  district  for  the  oast  year  was 
recorded  as  being  from  the  following  counties :  Alameda,  Contra  Costa, 
Fresno,  Marin,  Sacramento,  San  Joaquin,  Santa  Clara,  and  Tulare. 
The  industry  is  in  a  more  prosperous  condition  than  it  has  been  for 
several  years  because  of  the  fact  that  there  has  been  so  much  renewed 
activity  in  building  and  construction  work  of  all  kinds. 

CEMENT. 

The  year  1920  was  probably  the  most  prosperous  ever  experienced  by 
the  cement  manufacturers,  and  while  the  value  of  the  total  output  for 
1921  will  not  show  such  a  large  figure,  it  is  believed  that  this  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  costs  of  production  were  materially  decreased  during  the 
past  twelve  months,  thus  allowing  the  selling  price  to  take  a  big  drop 
and  assisting  in  bringing  the  general  building  program  more  nearly 
back  to  normal.  Cement  plants  of  large  capacity  are  located  in  Contra 
Costa,  San  Benito,  Santa  Cruz  and  Solano  counties. 

CHROMITE. 

Chromite  is  like  manganese — one  of  the  much  talked  of  war  minerals 
whose  production  sprang  from  little  or  nothing  to  many  thousands  of 
tons  during  the  war  period,  and  has  again  dropped  back  to  its  former 
position  of  unimportance.  Chromite  is  found  along  the  Coast  Range 
mountains  and  also  in  the  hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas  in  many  of  the 
counties  of  the  San  Francisco  district,  although  last  year  production 
came  from  two  only — Lake  and  Mendocino — and  in  both  cases  the 
amount  was  insignificant.  The  outlook  for  this  branch  of  the  industry 
can  not  be  said  to  be  bright,  although  there  will  always  be  a  demand  for 
high  grade  chrome  in  the  chemical  and  allied  trades. 

GRANITE. 

Granite  is  available  at  a  great  many  points  in  the  section  of  the  state 
under  consideration,  probably  the  most  famous  granite  quarries  in  the 
West  being  located  at  Raymond  in  Madera  County.  There  has  been 
little  activity  in  the  production  of  this  material  during  the  past  year  on 
account  of  various  labor  disputes.  If  that  situation  is  cleared  up,  1922 
should  record  an  increase  in  this  business. 

MAGNESITE. 

Magnesite  is  one  of  the  list  of  mineral  products  which  are  almost 
exclusively  mined  in  the  San  Francisco  Field  District.  The  bulk  of  the 
state's  production  comes  from  Fresno,  Napa,  San  Benito,  Santa  Clara, 
Sonoma,  Stanislaus  and  Tulare  counties.  The  past  year  has  recorded  a 
slump  in  the  production  of  magnesite,  but  as  the  uses  of  this  mineral 
are  constantly  increasing  and  becoming  more  diversified,  it  is  believed 
that  the  future  will  bring  good  returns  to  those  engaged  in  this  branch 
of  the  mineral  industry.  One  drawback  to  the  magnesite  found  here,  is 
that  it  is  characteristically  too  pure  to  be  satisfactory  for  refractory 
purposes.  The  foreign  material,  which  supplies  a  great  deal  of  the 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  51 

demand  for  operators  of  steel,  furnaces,  etc.,  contains  considerable  iron, 
which  is  necessary  in  the  construction  of  magnesite  brick,  furnace 
linings,  etc. 

LOS  ANGELES  DISTRICT. 

In  contrast  to  metal  mining,  those  engaged  in  the  mining  of  structural 
materials  experienced  abnormal  prosperity  during  1921.  The  almost 
absolute  cessation  of  construction  during  the  war  resulted  in  an  unusual 
demand  for  buildings,  and  the  lowering  of  wages  and  materials  which 
began  in  1921,  was  immediately  taken  advantage  of  by  the  public.  The 
building  that  resulted,  in  Los  Angeles,  in  particular,  and  in  all  southern 
California,  reached  unprecedented  figures. 

The  prospects  for  1922  look  exceedingly  bright,  and  considerable 
expansion  is  contemplated  by  many  concerns  the  coming  year. 

The  continued  growth  of  population  in  southern  California  augurs 
well  for  those  engaged  in  the  mining  and  manufacture  of  structural 
materials  for  the  future. 

ASPHALT  AND  BITUMINOUS   ROCK. 

This  was  mined  in  San  Luis  Obispo  and  Santa  Barbara  counties. 
The  large  program  of  road  building  in  California  has  aided  the  mining 
of  this  material  for  dressing  purposes. 

What  is  known  as  the  Sattler  Asphalt  mine,  at  Carpinteria,  has  been 
leased  by  Oklahoma  parties,  who  propose  the  erection  of  a  $100,000 
refinery  for  the  extraction  of  oil  by  a  new  process. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  know  that  years  ago  this  property  was  owned 
by  Wm.  H.  Crocker  of  San  Francisco,  who  refined  the  asphalt  for  oil, 
until  the  discovery  of  the  California  oilfields  proved  too  strong  as  a 
competitor  of  his  oil  products. 

BRICK  AND  TILE. 

Those  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick  and  tile  during  1921  had 
nothing  to  complain  about.  Prices  were  high  and  the  demand  exceeded 
the  supply,  and  from  all  indications  1922  should  be  another  exceedingly 
profitable  year  in  this  industry. 

The  Los  Angeles  Brick  Company  has  purchased  600  acres  of  clay- 
bearing  land  adjacent  to  the  Alberhill  Coal  and  Clay  Company,  Alber- 
hill,  Riverside  County,  California. 

CEMENT. 

Cement  plants  ran  to  capacity  during  the  year.  The  extensive  use  of 
concrete  in  buildings  and  highways  promises  to  keep  the  plants  busy  for 
years  to  come. 

Some  companies  are  considering  a  program  of  expansion.  Among 
these  is  the  Monolith  Plant,  at  Monolith,  Kern  County.  This  was 
formerly  known  as  the  Los  Angeles  Aqueduct  Cement  Plant  and  was 
acquired  by  the  present  company  during  the  year  from  Los  Angeles  city. 

The  Monolith  Company  intend  to  increase  their  output  from  1200 
barrels  daily  capacity  to  3000  barrels  cement  during  1922, 


52  CALIFORNIA   STATK   MINING   BUREAU. 

CHROMITE. 

Shipments  of  ehromite  ore  were  practically  suspended  during  the 
year  from  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  the  main  source  of  this  material  in 
the  south.  There  is  but  little  demand  at  present,  and  that  at  prices 
which  make  ehromite  mining  unprofitable. 

GRANITE. 

There  was  little  done  in  the  quarrying  of  granite,  though  both  River- 
side and  San  Diego  counties  have  granite  of  exceptional  qualities  for 
building  and  monumental  purposes. 

The  cheaper  cost  of  concrete  and  ornamental  brick  and  tile,  as  com- 
pared with  granite,  has  hurt  the  granite  industry. 

LIME. 

The  Summit  Lime  Company,  owning  kilns  at  Tehachapi,  operated 
during  the  year. 

MAGNESITE. 

No  activity  in  magnesite  mining  during  the  year,  and  prospects  for 
1922  poor. 

MARBLE. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  marble  to  be  found  in  southern  California, 
especially  in  Inyo  and  San  Diego  counties.  Many  of  these  are  suitable 
for  construction  and  ornamental  purposes.  Alaskan,  Eastern,  French, 
and  Italian  marbles  have  heretofore  been  able  to  compete  successfully 
with  our  local  product.  Cheap  labor  and  water  transportation  has 
enabled  these  regions  to  undersell  our  marbles.  We  are.  however,  begin- 
ning to  note  a  change.  The  building  of  our  state  highways  with  their 
laterals  in  all  directions  is  working  to  the  advantage  of  our  marble 
deposits,  and  transportation  costs  are  being  reduced  due  to  the  use  of 
auto  trucks. 

An  increased  volume  of  business  is  anticipated  by  the  marble  quarries 
in  1922. 

MISCELLANEOUS  STONE. 

The  crushed  rock,  sand  and  gravel  business  experienced  wonderful 
prosperity,  due  to  the  tremendous  building  construction  during  the  year, 
and  the  outlook  for  1922  is  exceedingly  bright.  Los  Angeles  County  sur- 
passed every  other  in  the  state  in  its  output  of  crushed  rock,  gravel  and 
sand,  during  the  year  1921. 

INDUSTRIAL  MATERIALS. 
REDDING  DISTRICT. 

At  present  the  most  important  industrial  mineral  products  of  the 
district  are  pyrites  and  mineral  water.  This  year  marks  the  first  com- 
mercial production  of  barite  and  Iceland  spar  in  this  field,  and  it  is 
believed  to  be  the  first  production  of  optical  spar  in  the  United  States. 
New  deposits  of  diatomaceous  earth  were  located  also,  and  their  develop' 
ment  commenced. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  53 

The  hydro-electric  power  development  under  way  in  the  northern 
counties 'seems  to  offer  exceptional  opportunities  for  the  establishment 
of  chemical  and  electro-chemical  industries,  the  growth  of  which  has 
increased  greatly  in  this  country  since  the  war.  The  suggestion  has  been 
made  by  engineers1,  that  these  industries  could  be  established  by  the 
power  companies  themselves,  or  by  subsidiary  or  independent  companies 
and  adapted  to  use  electric  power  only  at  periods  of  minimum  loading 
on  the  line  so  that  a  very  cheap  rate  could  be  obtained.  Compared  to 
the  East,  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  electric  power  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  has  been  used  for  industrial  purposes.  Such  industries  would  be 
of  great  advantage  to  the  power  companies  and  at  the  same  time  they 
would  produce  a  market  for  many  of  the  raw  mineral  products  which 
are  abundant  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  generating  plants. 

ASBESTOS. 

The  Trinity  Asbestos  Mining  Company's  affairs  are  in  the  courts. 
Suit  was  filed  against  the  principal  owners  by  H.  H.  Schmidt,  for 
recovery  of  $131,512  which  he  alleged  he  invested.  Judgment  of 
$58,385.70  was  awarded  him.  Several  years  ago  the  company  built  a 
fine  road  from  Castella  to  their  claims,  near  Carrville.  This  was 
taken  over  by  the  forest  service.  Everything  else  is  abandoned. 

W.  S.  Russell  of  Edgewood  has  located  the  Shasta  View  group  of 
claims  on  Mount  Eddy,  in  Sec.  8,  T.  41  N.,  R.  5  W.,  on  which  chrysotile 
asbestos  occurs  in  veins  in  serpentine.  Some  of  the  fiber  reaches  a 
length  of  one  inch,  but  most  of  it  is  short.  A  ten-ton  shipment  was 
made  in  August,  to  the  Paraffine  Companies,  Incorporated,  of  Emery- 
ville, for  experimental  purposes. 

BARYTES. 

Austin  Bros,  of  Oakland,  have  opened  up  a  deposit  of  barytes,  located 
in  Sec.  29,  T.  34  N.,  R.  3  W.,  near  Copper  City.  A  spur  track  runs 
from  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  Eastern  Railroad  to  the  loading  bins 
which  are  in  turn  connected  by  an  aerial  tram,  one-half  mile  in  length, 
to  the  deposit.  A  contract  to  supply  500  tons  per  month  was  recently 
entered  into,  the  barytes  going  to  Oakland  for  grinding. 

The  White  Swan  and  Snowflake  claims  lie  in  Sec.  34,  T.  35  N., 
R.  4  "W.  No  work  has  been  done  on  these,  but  where  exposed  the  barytes 
is  white,  and  has  a  maximum  width  of  15  feet. 

ICELAND  SPAR. 

Iceland  spar  is  the  name  given  to  pure  crystallized  calcite  (CaCO3) 
when  it  is  sufficiently  transparent  and  free  from  defects  to  be  used  for 
optical  purposes.  Heretofore  this  material  has  not  been  found  in  the 
United  States  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  of  doubtful  quality 
at  one  point  in  Montana,  and  its  production  in  Modoc  County  adds  a 
new  industrial  material  to  California's  output. 

James  D.  and  John  Patterson  of  Cedarville  have  eight  claims  in  the 
Warner  Range  near  Cedarville,  at  various  points  in  a  belt  five  or  six 
miles  long.  One  claim  was  worked  during  the  winter  of  1920-1921, 
and  about  1000  ounces  were  shipped  to  the  Bosch  and  Lomb  Optical 
Company.  The  price  received  was  $8  per  pound  for  pieces  weighing 
one  ounce,  and  fifty  cents  additional  a  pound  for  each  one-fourth 


54  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

ounce  increase  in  weight  of  crystals.  The  largest  crystal  shipped 
weighed  12  ounces.  The  minimum  size  for  first  grade  prisms  is 
approximately  £  x  £  x  1£  inches  for  one  shape,  and  f  x  f  x  £  inch  for 
the  other  shape,  the  true  sizes  being  given  in  metric  measurements. 
Crystals  which  exceed  these  dimensions  in  any  direction  were  split  down 
to  the  proper  proportions  before  being  weighed  for  purchase,  so  there 
was  some  loss  in  each  shipment  on  this  account.  It  is  necessary  to 
examine  each  crystal  carefully  for  flaws  by  bright  sunlight  or  electric 
light,  as  the  least  rainbow  iridescence,  incipient  cracks  or  cloudiness 
causes  rejection.  Very  careful  handling  is  necessary  to  avoid  injury. 
There  is  a  large  amount  of  material  suitable  for  specimens,  but  the  per- 
fect crystals  are  only  found  where  the  vein  swells  and  has  left  an  open 
space  which  is  filled  with  a  claylike  material  in  which  a  perfect  crystal 
may  be  imbedded.  The  calcite  veins,  two  to  three  feet  in  width,  occur 
in  a  hard  heavy  rock,  probably  basalt. 

INFUSORIAL  AND  DIATOMACEOUS  EARTH. 

An  association  of  some  18  members,  principally  from  Weed,  among 
whom  are  C.  O.  Willis,  R.  P.  Clark  and  W.  E.  Tebbe,  have  located  the 
Insulator  group  of  39  claims  with  a  total  area  of  5800  acres  (later 
reported  to  be  increased  to  7000  acres)  for  diatomaceous  earth.  The 
deposit  is  20  miles  from  Bartle,  in  T.  37  N.,  Rs.  2  and  3  E.,  along  the 
new  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Railroad,  and  covers  an  area  one  mile 
wide  by  13  miles  long.  The  ground  is  generally  level,  but  it  lies  at  an 
elevation  of  4000  to  5000  feet,  and  can  be  operated  only  about  seven 
months  in  the  year.  The  deposit  is  of  a  bedded  character  and  at  least 
300  feet  in  depth  at  one  point.  It  costs  $5  per  ton  to  haul  to  Bartle. 
About  five  tons  have  been  shipped  as  samples,  500  pounds  being  recently 
sent  to  New  York  for  tests  as  to  its  value  as  a  filler  in  the  manufacture 
of  paper.  The  association  also  has  another  prospect  near  Weed,  two 
and  one-half  miles  from  the  main  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company, 
on  which  three  men  are  working. 

MICA. 

Samples  of  mica  (muscovite)  in  sheets  up  to  two  or  three  inches 
square,  and  probably  of  commercial  value,  have  been  received  from  II. 
Johnson  of  Sissons.  The  deposit  is  in  Siskiyou  County  about  35  miles 
west  of  Yreka. 

MINERAL   WATER. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  a  half  million  gallons  of  mineral  water  ;nv 
marketed  yearly  from  this  district,  the  principal  production  coming 
from  Siskiyou  County,  where  the  famous  Shasta  Springs  are  located. 

PYRITE. 

Pyritic  ore,  90  per  cent  of  which  averages  45  per  cent  sulphur,  or 
better,  and  .7  per  cent  copper,  is  produced  by  the  Mountain  Copper 
Company,  from  the  Hornet  mine.  The  pyrite  is  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  sulphuric  acid,  and  fertilizer.  A  portion  is  sold  to  the  Gen- 
eral Chemical  Company  and  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  The  latter 
company  returns  the  pyrite  cinder  to  the  Mountain  Copper  Company's 


PRELIMINARy  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  55 

Martinez  plant  where  it  is  leached,  and  the  copper  recovered.  Early 
in  the  year  shipments  averaged  15,000  tons  per  month,  but  the  demand 
decreased  and  by  May  they  had  been  reduced  to  4000  tons  monthly  or 
about  150  tons  per  day. 

AUBURN  DISTRICT. 

Chrysotile  asbestos,  barytes,  pottery  clay,  limestone,  mineral  paint, 
silica,  soapstone  and  talc  have  been  produced  in  the  counties  of  the 
Auburn  Field  Division. 

Prospects  of  chrysotile  asbestos  have  been  found  in  several  counties, 
but  to  date  only  one  in  Nevada  County,  near  Washington,  has  been 
productive.  Another  in  Calaveras  County,  near  Copperopolis,  is  being 
prospected,  and  some  work  has  also  been  started  on  a  group  of  claims 
on  the  north  side  of  American  River,  near  Green  Valley. 

No  barite  has  been  mined  during  the  year  but  a  few  cars  mined  in 
1920  were  sold. 

Production  of  pottery  clay  and  its  products  has  continued  at  the 
properties  named  in  our  Preliminary  Report  No.  7  but  aside  from  the 
resumption  of  normal  operation  at  the  plant  of  Gladding,  McBean  and 
Company,  at  Lincoln,  Placer  County,  following  the  completion  of  their 
new  buildings,  there  has  been  no  increased  activity  noted. 

A  plant  has  been  put  up  near  Angels  Camp,  Calaveras  County,  for 
crushing  and  grading  greenstone  for  industrial  uses.  It  is  described 
elsewhere  in  this  report. 

A  company  has  been  formed  to  open  a  limestone  deposit  near  Sloat, 
Plumas  County. 

Some  iron  oxide  ore  has  been  shipped  from  Clipper  Gap  during  the 
year  for  making  paint.  This  was  mined  west  of  that  place  in  Placer 
County. 

ASBESTOS. 

Pacific  Asbestos  Corporation,  Belding  building,  Stockton.  The  prop- 
erty being  exploited  by  this  company  is  in  the  extreme  southwestern  end 
of  the  county,  just  north  of  Stanislaus  River  and  five  and  a  half  miles 
from  Chinese  on  the  Sierra  Railway.  It  has  been  prospected  in  a  small 
way  by  tunnels  and  open  cuts  showing  chrysotile  fiber  of  fair  length. 
A  small  experimental  mill  was  put  up  which  is  said  to  have  shown  that 
the  ore  tested  had  an  average  content  of  5.17  per  cent  asbestos  fiber. 
Stock  is  being  sold  to  finance  the  building  of  a  larger  mill. 

Sierra  Asbestos  Company,  Easton  building,  Thirteenth  and  Broadway, 
Oakland;  E.  R.  Leach,  president;  R.  E.  Conrad,  mine  superintendent. 
The  mine  and  mill  being  operated  by  this  company  two  and  a  half  miles 
northwest  of  Washington,  and  previously  described  by  the  writer,  have 
been  operated  during  the  dry  seasons  for  the  past  three  years  and  many 
changes  have  been  made  in  the  mill. 

Ore  is  still  mined  in  the  glory  hole.  A  second  pit  has  been  started 
north  of  the  first,  but  no  ore  has  been  taken  from  this.  Both  of  these 
are  connected  by  gravity  trams  with  the  receiving  bin  back  of  the  mill. 
The  mill  heads  are  said  to  run  3  per  cent  to  5  per  cent  asbestos  fiber. 

At  the  receiving  bin  ore  is  broken  in  a  rock  breaker  and  sent  by  belt 
conveyor  to  the  mill  bins,  which  have  a  capacity  of  150  tons.  The  three 
center  stamps  of  each  of  four  batteries  crush  the  ore  dry.  A  four-inch 


56  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

air  suction  pipe  is  connected  to  each  battery  to  draw  off  the  dust.  From 
the  stamps  the  ore  is  taken  by  belt  conveyor  to  the  first  shaking  screen. 
Any  fiber  already  separated  from  gangue  is  drawn  off  from  the  foot  of 
this  screen  into  a  fiberizer,  and  thence  by  air  suction  into  the  first  cyclone 
separator ;  then  it  passes  over  a  double  shaking  screen,  is  picked  up  again 
by  air  suction  and  goes  through  a  second  cyclone  separator  and  to  the 
grading  trommel. 

Unseparated  ore  from  the  foot  of  the  first  screen  is  crushed  in  rolls 
40  inches  by  16  inches  set  one-sixteenth  inch  apart.  Thence  a  bucket  ele- 
vator returns  it  to  the  head  of  the  first  screen,  which  is  divided  longi- 
tudinally into  halves,  one  for  the  stamp  product  and  one  for  the  roll 
product.  The  unfiberized  roll  product  from  the  foot  of  this  first  screen, 
and  also  the  unfiberized  material  which  passes  through  the  upper  deck 
of  the  double  screen  but  remains  on  the  lower  deck,  pass  to  a  burr  mill. 
The  burr  mill  product  is  lifted  by  a  small  bucket  elevator  to  a  third 
screen,  from  the  foot  of  which  an  air  lift  picks  up  any  fiber  and  delivers 
it  to  the  cyclone  separators. 

Four  grades,  called  Nos.  1  to  4,  are  produced  and  are  sold  for  insu- 
lating purposes.  The  fiber  is  sacked  and  hauled  in  trucks  to  the  railroad 
at  Nevada  City. 

GREENSTONE. 

Pacific  Rock  Granule  Company  is  a  copartnership  between  C.  S.  Ren- 
wick,  T.  H.  Delap,  E.  Taylor,  G.  Hooker  and  L.  J.  Younce,  all  of  Rich- 
mond. Cal.  Office,  Fourth  and  McDonald  streets,  Richmond. 

A  plant  was  built  in  October,  1920,  just  south  of  Angels  Camp  on  the 
Try  on  mine  property,  to  prepare  greenstone  of  various  screen  sizes. 
They  call  the  product  Angels  Green.  The  plant  has  been  in  nearly 
steady  operation.  The  rock,  which  is  obtained  from  a  short  tunnel,  is 
crushed  to  one-eighth  inch  in  two  rock  breakers  with  a  screen  between 
them.  From  the  second  breaker  the  rock  passes  through  rolls  27  inches 
by  14  inches,  which  gives  a  product  sized  10-mesh  to  40-mesh.  This  is 
elevated  by  a  bucket  elevator  and  graded  on  vibrating  screens,  the  first 
one  of  10-mesh,  No.  17  wire,  and  the  lower  two  of  28-mesh,  No.  22  wire. 
Oversize  from  the  coarser  screen  is  returned  to  the  rolls. 

The  product  is  of  an  attractive  green  color.  There  is  a  market  for 
quarter-inch  rock  for  use  on  hot  tar  roofing.  Principal  sales  at  present 
are  to  makers  of  ready  roofing  and  artificial  shingles.  The  rock  for  this 
use  is  rolled  into  the  fejt  and  becomes  a  component  part  of  the  product. 
The  screen  analysis  for  this  purpose  should  preferably  be  as  follows : 

25  per  cent  to  50  per  cent  on  20-mesh. 

25  per  cent  to  65  per  cent  on  40-mesh. 

10  per  cent  on  60-mesh. 

Not  over  2  per  cent,  80-mesh  to  dust. 

No  dust. 

Dust  is  disposed  of  by  the  use  of  compressed  air,  after  the  crushing 
process. 

There  is  said  to  be  a  market  for  the  dust  in  making  magnesite  products, 
and  there  should  be  other  uses  for  it  as  it  is  obtained  here  as  a  by-product 
incidental  to  the  preparation  of  the  coarser  sizes,  and  it  should  be  pos- 
sible to  sell  it  cheaper  than  from  a  regular  fine  grinding  plant. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  57 

LIMESTONE. 

The  Plumas  Lime  and  Rock  Company.  J.  C.  Reid,  president.  Office, 
224  Forum  Building,  Sacramento.  This  stock  company  was  formed  to 
take  over  a  fifteen-year  lease  given  by  Mrs.  Elsie  Reed  Skemp  to  J.  C. 
Reid  on  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Sees.  1  and  12,  T.  23  N.,  R.  11  E.,  near 
Sloat.  The  lease  provides  for  the  working  of  the  deposit  on  a  royalty 
basis. 

The  limestone  is  of  good  grade,  analyses  showing  95  per  cent  to  98 
per  cent  calcium  carbonate.  It  is  two  miles  from  the  Western  Pacific 
Railway.  The  company  has  had  estimates  made  to  cover  the  construc- 
tion of  a  spur  track,  building  of  a  kiln,  etc.  It  is  proposed  to  produce 
lime  and  limestone  for  agricultural  and  industrial  uses. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT. 

The  industrial  materials  are,  with  a  few  exceptions,  produced  on  a 
comparatively  small  scale  as  yet  in  the  counties  which  comprise  the  San 
Francisco  Field  Division.  The  possibilities  of  development  along  several 
of  these  lines  are  large,  however,  and  with  increasing  transportation  and 
other  facilities,  together  with  steadily  growing  demands,  the  future  for 
this  branch  of  the  mineral  industry  throughout  the  entire  state  is  most 
promising. 

ASBESTOS. 

Asbestos  of  good  quality  has  been  found  in  Fresno  and  Lake  counties, 
although  actual  production  in  the  past  has  been  only  nominal.  During 
the  fall  of  1921  the  Liberty  Asbestos  Company  opened  up  a  deposit  of 
chrysotile  near  Coalinga  and  have  already  shipped  several  carloads  to 
the  test  mill  which  they  have  constructed  in  South  San  Francisco. 
R.  R.  Norton,  641  Mills  Building,  San  Francisco,  is  president  of  this 
corporation. 

CLAY. 

The  principal  counties  in  this  portion  of  the  state  which  contain 
developed  deposits  of  clay  suitable  for  commercial  uses  are  Alameda, 
Contra  Costa  and  Santa  Clara.  For  many  years  earthenware  articles 
and  lower  grade  pottery  products  have  been  manufactured  on  a  consid- 
erable scale.  One  of  the  most  interesting  developments  of  the  clay 
industry  recorded  on  the  Pacific  Coast  is  the  construction  of  a  plant  by 
the  Homer-Knowles  Pottery  Company  near  Santa  Clara,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  manufacturing  hotel  and  dinnerware  crockery.  When  this 
company  starts  operations,  as  they  plan  to  do  early  in  1922,  it  will  be 
the  first  time  that  pottery  of  this  character  has  ever  been  produced 
from  crude  materials  mined  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

DOLOMITE. 

Monterey  and  San  Benito  counties  produced  two-thirds  of  the  dolo- 
mite mined  in  California.  This  material  is  coming  into  wider  and  wider 
use,  the  major  portion  of  the  tonnage  shipped  being  utilized  as  a  refrac- 
tory lining  in  the  bottoms  of  open  hearth  steel  furnaces. 


5g  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

MINERAL  PAINT. 

While  deposits  of  ochre  and  substances  suitable  for  use  as  pigments 
are  known  to  occur  in  a  great  many  localities  in  California,  commercial 
production  of  mineral  paints  is  relatively  small.  The  principal  output 
comes  from  deposits  at  Knights  Ferry,  Stanislaus  County.  An  inter- 
esting development  in  this  branch  of  the  mineral  industry  is  the  recently 
completed  plant  of  the  Ferro  Products  Corporation  at  San  Andreas 
Beach,  between  Santa  Cruz  and  Watsonville.  Mr.  D.  M.  Crist  is  mana- 
ger of  this  company,  Box  884,  R.  F.  D.  No.  3,  Watsonville.  The  com- 
pany's  operations  at  the  present  time  consist  of  calcining  the  black 
sands,  which  are  obtained  from  the  beach,  and  manufacturing  iron  oxide 
pigments  of  various  colors. 

MINERAL  WATER. 

Mineral  waters  are  being  bottled  and  placed  on  the  market  from 
almost  all  of  the  Coast  Range  counties  in  the  San  Francisco  district. 
Lake,  Mendocino  and  the  surrounding  region  are  said  to  contain  min- 
eral waters  equal  in  variety  and  medicinal  value  to  any  of  the  famous 
health  resorts  of  Europe.  It  is  believed  that  great  possibilities  exist 
here  for  future  development. 

LOS  ANGELES  DISTRICT. 

Asbestos,  barytes,  clay,  dolomite,  feldspar,  fluorspar,  fullers  earth, 
gems,  graphite,  gypsum,  infusorial  or  diatomaceous  earth,  limestone, 
lithia,  mineral  paint,  mineral  water,  pumice  or  volcanic  ash,  pyrite,  silica 
(sand  and  quartz),  soapstone  and  talc,  and  strontium,  have  been  arbi- 
trarily classified  under  the  above  heading.  These  are  all  found  in  this 
district.  With  the  exception  of  three  or  four  of  them,  they  are  mined  in 
comparatively  small  quantities.  The  rapid  growth  of  population  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  state  and  the  Pacific  Coast  in  general  has  created  a 
larger  market  for  many  of  these  industrials  and  much  more  attention  is 
now  being  devoted  to  their  development  and  exploitation.  The  public  in 
general  does  not  realize  the  potential  wealth  which  this  wide  range  of 
industrial  materials  represents. 


Both  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  counties  have  deposits  of  this 
lineral.     Practically  no  production  during  the  year. 


CLAY. 


Clay  was  mined  in  large  quantities  for  the  potteries,  and  these  ran  to 
full  capacity.    The  outlook  for  1922  is  exceedingly  bright. 


DOLOMITE. 


A  small  amount  of  this  mineral  was  mined  during  the  year  in  Inyo 
County,  near  Keeler.  This  was  shipped  to  the  soda  plants  at  Owens 
Lake  where  the  dolomite  is  used  for  generating  carbon  dioxide. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,  JANUARY,   1922.  59 

FELDSPAR. 

A  small  tonnage  was  mined  in  Riverside  and  San  Diego  counties 
during  the  year.  This  material  is  becoming  of  increasing  importance, 
due  to  the  demand  of  the  pottery  manufacturers. 

The  Pacific  Porcelain  Ware  Company  of  San  Francisco  contemplates 
building  a  75-ton  feldspar  plant  on  its  property  in  San  Diego  County, 
the  early  part  of  1922. 

FLUORSPAR. 

*  f 

This  is  being  shipped  at  present  from  the  Massen  fluorspar  deposit  in 

San  Bernardino  County.     It  is  located  three  miles  southeast  from  Afton, 
a  station  on  the  Salt  Lake  Railroad,  in  the  Cave  Canyon  mining  district. 

FULLERS    EARTH. 

The  largest  user  of  this  material  was  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  who 
have  a  deposit  in  San  Bernardino  County,  at  Soclay,  on  the  Tonopah  and 
Tidewater  Railroad. 

Work  was  suspended  on  mining  this  material  during  the  year,  but 
may  be  resumed  in  1922. 

GEMS. 

These  are  found  in  San  Bernardino  and  San  Diego  counties,  but  the 
production  during  the  year  was  insignificant,  there  being  only  a  local 
demand. 

GRAPHITE. 

Practically  no  mining  of  graphite  during  1921.  Deposits  of  this 
mineral  are  know  to  exist  in  Imperial,  Los  Angeles,  San  Bernardino 
and  San  Diego  counties. 

The  coming  year,  however,  should  see  considerable  activity,  as  the 
following  companies  contemplate  operating  their  graphite  plants. 

Los  Angeles  Graphite  Company.  Deposit  located  on  Kagel  Canyon, 
eight  miles  east  of  San  Fernando,  Los  Angeles  County.  The  company 
has  just  completed  a  100-ton  graphite  plant,  and  will  be  in  full  opera- 
tion the  coming  year.  Maintains  offices  at  211  Grant  Building,  Los 
Angeles.  Albert  Maltman,  general  manager. 

California  Graphite  Company.  This  company  has  two  groups  of 
claims  18  miles  northeast  of  Saugus,  in  a  branch  of  the  San  Francis- 
quito  Canyon.  Property  is  equipped  with  a  50-ton  concentrating  plant, 
which  ran  at  intervals  during  the  year.  The  coming  year  should  see 
continuous  operation  of  this  plant.  Offices  at  402  Bryson  Building,  Los 
Angeles.  O.  M.  Souden,  president. 

GYPSUM. 

-While  deposits  of  gypsum  are  found  in  Los  Angeles,  Orange,  San 
Bernardino,  Santa  Barbara,  Ventura  and  Imperial  counties,  only  a  few 
deposits  have  a  sufficient  purity  and  such  transportation  facilities  as 
allow  them  to  be  economically  exploited.  The  greatest  tonnage  during 
the  year  came  from  the  deposits  at  Amboy  and  those  near  Blythe. 


g0  CALIFORNIA   STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

The  increasing  demand  for  gypsum  products,  to  be  used  both  as  a 
fertilizer  and  for  building  purposes  has  induced  others  to  enter  the 
field  and  two  large  companies  will  probably  be  among  the  producers  in 
1922. 

Imperial  Gypsum  and  Oil  Company.  This  company  has  400  acres  of 
patented  gypsum  land,  in  Sec.  29,  T.  13  S.,  R.  9  E.,  S.  B.  M.,  in  the 
Imperial  Valley,  Imperial  County.  It  is  said  to  have  an  immense  ton- 
nage, analyzing  97.7  per  cent  gypsum.  It  is  now  constructing  a  25- 
mile  railway  from  the  deposit  to  a  station  called  'Maria'  on  the  San 
Diego  and  Arizona  Railroad,  and  will  commence  the  construction  of  a 
500-ton  gypsum  plant  during  next  January.  The  company  proposes  to 
enter  the  field,  not  only  for  the  Pacific  Coast  business,  but  also  will  com- 
pete for  the  trade  of  the  Orient.  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  The 
company  has  offices  at  250  Spreckels  Building,  San  Diego.  W.  H.  Coons 
is  president  and  S.  W.  Dunaway,  general  manager. 

California  Gypsum  Corporation.  This  corporation  has  large  holdings 
in  T.  13  and  14  S.,  R.  9  E.,  S.  B.  M.,  in  the  Imperial  Valley,  Imperial 
County. 

Has  an  immense  tonnage  of  better  than  97  per  cent  gypsum.  Pro- 
poses building  railroad  from  deposit  to  San  Diego  and  Arizona  Rail- 
road, a  distance  of  16  miles,  also  a  large  gypsum  plant' during  the 
coming  year.  Will  also  compete  for  the  markets  of  the  Pacific  Coast, 
Orient,  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Main  office,  321  Central  Building, 
Los  Angeles.  President,  C.  F.  Guthridge. 

INFUSORIAL  OR  DIATOMACEOUS  EARTH. 

As  in  the  past  year,  the  Celite  Products  Company,  with  deposits  near 
Lompoc,  Santa  Barbara  County,  was  the  largest  producer  during  1921. 
From  a  small  production  a  few  years  ago,  this  company  has  developed 
an  immense  business  in  diatomaceous  earth  products,  and  1922  will  see 
even  a  larger  volume  of  business  than  in  the  past  years. 

LIMESTONE. 

Large  tonnages  mined  in  connection  with  the  cement  industry. 
The  Monolith  Company  during  the  year  acquired  the  Jameson  lime- 
stone deposit  at  Monolith,  Kern  County. 

PUMICE. 
Small  quantities  mined  in  Imperial  and  Inyo  counties  during  the  year. 

SILICA. 

There  is  an  increasing  demand  for  silica,  especially  writh  the  estab- 
lishment of  glass  works  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state.  The  competi- 
tion of  Belgian  sand,  brought  as  ballast  by  steamers,  has  retarded  the 
development  of  silica  mining.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  industry 
should  be  protected  by  tariff  legislation. 

The  Southern  California  Marble  and  Development  Company  has  a 
large  deposit  seven  miles  north  of  Coyote  Wells,  a  station  on  the  San 
Diego  and  Arizona  Railroad,  in  Imperial  County.  It  proposes  to  install 
much  new  equipment,  such  as  aerial  tramways,  etc.,  for  handling  the 
tonnage  more  economically,  during  the  coming  year. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  g^ 

TALC. 

Talc  was  mined  from  deposits  in  Inyo,  Los  Angeles  and  San 
Bernardino  counties. 

The  largest  production  came  from  the  Acme  Talc  mine,  in  San 
Bernardino  County,  seven  miles  east  of  Acme  Siding  on  the  Tonopah 
and  Tidewater  Railroad. 

STRONTIUM. 

Deposits  occur  both  in  Imperial  and  San  Bernardino  counties. 

Occurs  mainly  as  celestite  (SrS04). 

Comparatively  a  small  tonnage  was  mined  during  the  year.  If  the 
beet  sugar  people  can  be  induced  to  use  strontium  minerals  in  place  of 
lime,  there  will  undoubtedly  be  a  good  future  for  strontium  minerals. 
In  both  Germany  and  Russia  strontium  is  largelv  used  in  the  beet  sugar 
industry. 

SALINES. 
REDDING  DISTRICT. 

Borax  was  first  discovered  in  California  in  January,  1856,  in  the 
waters  of  Tuscan  Springs,  Tehama  County,  and  salt  and  potash  have 
been  produced  in  Lassen,  Modoc  and  Siskiyou  counties.  There  was  no 
activity  in  the  mining  of  salines  in  1921. 

POTASH. 

The  reported  discovery  of  potash  in  wells  sunk  along  the  shore  of 
Honey  Lake,  the  waters  of  which  were  said  to  contain  from  4  to  40 
per  cent  of  the  salt,  turned  out  to  be  a  hoax.  An  association,  called  the 
Desert  Products  Company,  of  which  Dr.  C.  A.  Jacobson  of  the  Mackey 
School  of  Mines  in  Reno,  was  a  principal,  was  formed  to  exploit  the  find, 
and  some  money  was  spent  in  prospecting  and  acquiring  acreage,  before 
it  was  discovered  that  the  samples  sent  for  analysis  had  been  tampered 
with. 

Nothing  was  done  during  the  year,  with  the  potash-bearing  rock 
found  near  Ager,  Siskiyou  County. 

AUBURN  DISTRICT. 

There  is  no  production  of  any  of  the  commercial  salines  in  the 
counties  of  the  Auburn  Field  Division. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DISTRICT. 

About  eighty  per  cent  of  the  salt  production  in  California  is  derived 
from  plants  in  Alameda  and  San  Mateo  counties,  where  the  water  of 
San  Francisco  Bay  is  evaporated.  This  is  the  principal  saline  mineral 
produced  in  the  San  Francisco  district,  although  some  potash  is  being 
recovered  from  the  flue  dust  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Portland  Cement  Com- 
pany at  Davenport,  Santa  Cruz  County,  and  small  quantities  of 
magnesium  compounds  have  been  manufactured  as  a  by-product  by  the 
Oliver  Chemical  Company  in  Alameda  County,  and  the  Whitney  Chem- 
ical Company  in  San  Mateo  County. 


g2  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

The  output  of  salt  in  this  district  is  a  well  established  industry  and 
will  undoubtedly  continue  to  grow  in  the  future  at  the  same  steady 
rate  that  it  has  developed  in  the  past. 

LOS  ANGELES  DISTRICT. 

The  lake  beds  of  Inyo,  Imperial,  Kern,  Los  Angeles.  San  Bernardino 
and  San  Luis  Obispo  contain  immense  quantities  of  salines,  and  we  are 
gradually  awakening  to  their  immense  value. 

Many  of  the  products  which  are  manufactured  from  the.se  salts  need 
some  tariff  protection  and  it  is  only  right  and  just  that  these  should 
be  protected  by  sufficient  tariff  legislation  until  they  have  emerged  from 
infancy  to  full  growth. 

With  the  exception  of  the  years  1918  and  1919,  borax  has  exceeded 
all  other  salines  in  value. 

During  1918  and  1919  potash  took  the  lead,  due  to  its  tremendous 
increase  in  price  during  the  war. 

BORAX. 

This  industry  is  practically  controlled  by  two  large  companies — the 
Pacific  Coast  Borax,  and  the  Sterling  Borax  Company,  the  former  hav- 
ing deposits  in  San  Bernardino  County,  while  the  latter  is  at  Lang,  Los 
Angeles  County. 

The  Sterling  Borax  Company  closed  its  plant  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  but  will  resume  operations  shortly,  it  is  reported. 

To  what  extent  the  discovery  of  a  large  deposit  of  colemanite  near 
Las  Vegas,  Nevada,  will  affect  these  companies  is  as  yet  unknown.  It 
is  stated,  however,  that  this  new  deposit  may  prove  to  be  a  strong 
competitor  of  the  California  borax  properties. 

POTASH. 

While  potash  is  found  in  Inyo.  Kern  and  San  Bernardino  counties, 
it  is  in  the  latter  it  has  seen  its  greatest  development. 

On  the  shores  of  Searles  Lake  millions  of  dollars  have  been  spent  by 
the  American  Trona,  Boro  Solvay,  and  the  West  End  Chemical 
companies. 

The  competition  of  German  potash  now  is  having  a  most  serious  effect 
on  these  companies,  and  unless  the  new  tariff  gives  sufficient  protection 
they  are  liable  to  be  forced  to  close  down  permanently.  During  the 
year  the  American  Trona  Company  suspended  operations. 

SODA. 

This  is  found  in  Inyo  and  San  Bernardino  counties. 

It  is  at  Owens  Lake,  Inyo  County,  that  the  soda  industry  has  been 
most  highly  developed. 

Natural  Soda  Products  Company.  Plant  situated  on  the  east  shore 
of  Owens  Lake,  two  miles  south  of  Keeler.  Has  a  plant  capacity  of 
24,000  tons  dense  ash  per  year,  and  markets  its  product  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  the  Orient. 

1921  proved  to  be  very  prosperous,  and  the  outlook  for  1922  is  fully 
as  good  as  this  year. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  g3 

California  Alkali  Company.  Works  located  on  west  shore  of  Owens 
Lake  at  Cartago  on  the  Owenyo  branch  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad. 
Has  a  capacity  of  100  tons  dense  ash  per  day,  and  operated  during  the 
year. 

COMMON  SALT. 

There  are  deposits  of  common  salt  in  Inyo,  Kern,  San  Bernardino 
and  Riverside  counties. 

In  San  Diego  County  salt  is  obtained  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  near 
San  Diego,  by  solar  evaporation. 

There  was  practically  no  increase  in  production  over  1920  during 
the  year. 

In  San  Bernardino  County  the  Avawatz  Salt  and  Gypsum  Company 
has  52  claims,  approximately  5200  acres,  ten  miles  west  of  the  Tonopah 
and  Tidewater  Railroad.  While  only  assessment  work  is  being  done  at 
present,  the  company  has  prepared  complete  plans  to  exploit  their 
deposits  not  only  for  salt  but  also  gypsum,  celestite  and  talc  which  are 
found  on  their  holdings.  It  will  be  necessary  for  this  company  to  build 
a  17-mile  railroad  to  a  point  about  69  miles  north  of  Ludlow  to  connect 
with  the  Tonopah  and  Tidewater  Railroad.  The  coming  year  will 
probably  see  the  begininng  of  work  on  the  proposed  plans  of  the 
company. 

MISCELLANEOUS    ALKALINE    SALTS. 

The  American  Magnesium  Company  has  1440  acres,  20  miles  north- 
east of  Searles  Lake,  containing  deposits  of  magnesium  sulphate, 
aluminum  sulphate  and  sodium  sulphate.  It  proposes  the  erection  of 
a  plant  on  the  Trona  Railway  which  will  have  a  capacity  of  15,000 
tons  of  chemical  products  of  which  6000  tons  will  be  potash  alum  and 
9000  tons  of  magnesium  carbonate.  It  will  obtain  its  potash  from  the 
American  Trona  Company.  It  proposes  to  lay  a  fiber  pipe  line  28 
miles  long  to  carry  the  brine  from  the  deposit  to  its  plant  on  the 
Trona  Railway.  T.  H.  Wright,  215  W.  4th  street,  Los  Angeles,  is 
president  of  the  company. 


g4  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

PETROLEUM  AND  GAS  IN  CALIFORNIA  IN  1921. 

By  R.  E.  COLLOM. 

During  the  year  1921  California  has  established  a  new  record  in  the 
production  of  petroleum.  It  is  estimated  that  production  for  1921  will 
be  close  to  114,000,000  barrels.  This  production  exceeds  that  of  1920 
by  over  8,000,000  barrels.  It  is  the  greatest  quantity  of  oil  yet  pro- 
duced in  a  single  year  in  California.  Records  of  production  and 
consumption  for  the  year  1920  showed  that  about  8,000,000  barrels  of 
oil  was  drawn  out  of  storage.  This  amount,  added  to  the  production  of 
1920,  was  necessary  to  satisfy  market  requirements,  which  were  close 
to  114,000,000  barrels.  The  production  of  1921  was  about  equal  to  the 
marketing  requirements  of  1920  but  it  is  estimated  that  13,000,000  bar- 
rels of  the  production  of  1921  was  not  needed  to  meet  the  market  and 
therefore  run  into  storage. 

In  the  face  of  the  greatest  production  in  the  state's  history,  the  oil 
business  in  California  has  remained  fairly  steady,  although  the  local 
overproduction,  general  industrial  depression,  and  a  sympathetic  adjust- 
ment to  the  slump  in  Eastern  oil  fields,  caused  two  drops  in  the  price 
of  crude,  at  the  well,  during  the  year.  However,  the  oil  business  in 
California  was  not  subjected  to  the  violent  fluctuations  which  affected 
the  industry  elsewhere  in  the  United  States.  It  is  probable  that  the 
price  of  crude  oil,  at  the  well,  as  of  December,  1921,  will  be  increased 
in  1922. 

California  entered  the  year  1921  with  available  stored  oil  reduced  to 
a  minimum  and  the  oil  business  exerting  itself  to  increase  production 
to  a  pace  in  keeping  with  the  indicated  demands  for  1920.  However, 
there  came  a  curtailment  in  demands  for  petroleum,  and  early  in  1921 
marketing  companies  started  running  part  of  the  crude  oil  into  storage. 

For  the  first  eight  months  of  1921  production  averaged  10,100,000 
barrels  per  month.  This  indicated  that  the  state  would  produce  over 
120,000,000  barrels  during  the  year.  These  figures  were  not  met,  how- 
ever, because  of  the  oil  workers '  strike  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  fields 
during  part  of  the  month  of  September  and  all  of  October,  which 
retarded  producing  operations  to  the  extent  of  leaving  over  7,000,000 
barrels  of  oil  in  the  ground  which,  under  normal  activity,  would  have 
been  produced  and  run  into  storage.  The  San  Joaquin  Valley  oil 
fields  produced  53  per  cent  of  their  normal  output  during  the  strike. 
The  Elk  Hills  oil  field,  which  early  in  1921  was  producing  as  much 
oil  as  the  combined  production  of  the  1900  producing  wells  of  the 
Coalinga,  Belridge  and  Lost  Hills  fields,  produced  almost  to  full 
capacity  during  the  strike. 

The  maximum  monthly  production  for  California,  in  1921,  was 
reached  during  May.  The  production  was  10,450,131  barrels.  During 
May,  42  wells  in  the  Elk  Hills  produced  1,794,156  barrels  of  oil,  that  is, 
less  than  one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  the  oil  wells  of  California  produced 
17  per  cent  of  its  oil. 

In  Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties  the  production  was  considerably 
increased  during  the  year  by  the  discovery  of  several  new  fields  and  the 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  (J5 

unusual  development  of  such  fields  as  Huntington  Beach.  Shell  Com- 
pany of  California  contributed  the  Long  Beach  oil  field  by  bringing  in 
a  well  on  Signal  Hill.  Union  Oil  Company  of  California  greatly 
extended  the  productive  area  at  Santa  Fe  Springs  with  the  ' '  Bell ' '  well 
in  Sec.  31,  T.  2  S.,  R.  11  W.,  S.  B.  B.  and  M.  The  Chanslor-Canfield 
Midway  Oil  Company  (Santa  Fe  Railroad)  got  some  production  in  its 
well  No.  'Del  Amo'  1  at  Redondo  Beach,  which  gave  promise  to  the 
possibilities  of  another  new  field.  With  these  new  developments  in 
prospect  it  is  probable  that  the  production  of  Los  Angeles  and  Orange 
counties  will  be  still  further  increased  in  1922. 

The  developments  at  HuntingtoB  Beach,  especially  the  phases  of 
speculative  activity,  drew  public  attention  to  the  fields  of  southern 
California  during  the  year.  The  unscrupulous  promotion  of  stock  sell- 
ing enterprises,  without  the  necessary  acreage  or  working  capital  to 
insure  a  reasonable  return  on  investments,  caused  the  withdrawal  of 
considerable  public  support  from  the  normally  necessary  function  of 
\vildcat  drilling.  Much  wildcat  drilling  was  done  in  Riverside,  San 
Diego,  Imperial  and  other  southern  counties,  but  no  oil  fields  were 
developed  outside  of  Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties. 

In  Ventura  County  the  production  for  1921  was  approximately  the 
same  as  that  of  1920.  The  increased  production  from  new  wells  was 
about  sufficient  to  offset  the  declines  in  production  of  oil  wells. 

In  the  coastal  counties  north  of  Ventura,  of  which  the  principal  oil 
producer  is  Santa  Barbara  County,  there  was  no  appreciable  change  in 
oil  production.  Several  unsuccessful  ventures  in  wildcatting  were  con- 
cluded during  the  year.  The  most  notable  of  these  was  the  so-called 
'Flint'  well  of  Shell  Company  of  California  in  Sec.  32,  T.  24  S.,  R.  12 
E.,  M.  D.  B.  and  M.,  which  was  recently  abandoned. 

In  Kern  County,  which  normally  produces  about  50  per  cent  of  the 
oil  of  the  state,  the  Elk  Hills  oil  field  was  the  most  important  develop- 
ment. The  production  from  this  field  was  undoubtedly  the  key  factor 
to  the  relations  existing  between  supply  and  demand  for  petroleum  dur- 
ing 1921.  A  number  of  federal  leases  were  let,  under  the  Land  Leasing 
Act  of  February,  1920,  on  government  lands  in  the  Elk  Hills.  In 
addition,  the  U.  S.  Navy  Department  assigned  certain  acreage  in  Naval 
Petroleum  Reserve  No.  1  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  which 
department,  in  turn,  leased  the  land  to  private  concerns  for  develop- 
ment. Pan  American  Petroleum  Company  and-  W.  R.  Ramsey,  of 
Oklahoma,  were  the  successful  bidders  for  leases  to  drill  a  strip  of  land 
along  the  northern  and  eastern  borders  of  Sec.  1,  T.  31  S.,  R.  24  E., 
M.  D.  B.  and  M.,  Naval  Petroleum  Reserve  No.  1. 

Aside  from  Elk  Hills  the  principal  interest  in  wildcat  operations  in 
Kern  County  was  centered  in  the  Buttonwillow  area.  Several  concerns 
drilled  deep  holes  in  this  area,  developing  gas  under  high  pressure, 
which  interfered  greatly  with  drilling,  but  failed  to  get  production  of 
oil,  although  some  showings  were  reported.  This  area  still  requires 
careful  prospecting  and  testing  before  its  status  as  a  prospective  oil  field 
is  finally  determined. 

In  Fresno  County  there  was  no  change  of  importance  in  the  produc- 
tion of  oil.  Not  considering  wildcat  activities  in  counties  north  of  San 
Francisco,  the  Tulare  Lake  region  in  Kings  and  Tulare  counties  seemed 
to  attract  most  public  attention.  Several  wells  drilled  near  Tulare  Lake 


gg  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

have  developed  gas,  but  as  yet  no  authentic  showings  of  oil  have  been 
reported.  The  status  of  Tulare  Lake  area,  as  regards  petroleum,  is  still 
problematical. 

Wildcat  drilling  was  quite  general  throughout  the  state  in  1921. 
Wells  were  drilled  from  Del  Norte  County  in  the  north  to  San  Diego 
County  in  the  south.  Fresno,  Kern,  Santa  Barbara,  Ventura,  Los 
Angeles  and  Orange  counties,  however,  still  continue  to  be  the  six  prin- 
cipal petroleum  producing  counties. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT,   JANUARY,   1922.  QJ 


MINING    BUREAU    PUBLICATIONS  AVAILABLE   FOR    DISTRIBUTION. 

Reports.  PRICE 

Report   XI— 1892.     First   Biennial $1   00 

Chapters  of  State  Mineralogist's  Report,  Biennial  Period,  1913-14: 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,   Colusa,   Glenn,   Lake,   Marin,   Napa,   Solano, 

Sonoma  and  Yolo   Counties 50 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,  Del  Norte,  Humboldt  and  Mendocino  Counties  25 
Mines    and    Mineral   Resources,    Fresno,    Kern,    Kings,    Madera,    Mariposa, 

Merced,  San  Joaquin  and  Stanislaus  Counties 50 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,  Imperial  and  San  Diego  Counties 35 

Report  XIV— 1915.     Biennial   Period,    1913-1914.      (The   above   county    chapters, 
also  Amador,  Calaveras,  Tuolumne,  Shasta,  Siskiyou  and 

Trinity  Counties,  combined  in  a  single  volume) _1 2  00 

Chapters  of  State  Mineralogist's  Report,  Biennial  Period,  1915-1916: 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,  Alpine,  Inyo  and  Mono  Counties 65 

Same,  including  geological  map  of  Inyo  County 1  25 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,   Butte,   Lassen,   Modoc,    Sutter  and  Tehama 

Counties     50 

Mines  and   Mineral   Resources,   El  Dorado,    Placer,   Sacramento   and   Yuba 

Counties    65 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,  Los  Angeles,  Orange  and  Riverside  Counties_  50 
Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,  Monterey,  San  Benito,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Santa 

Barbara  and  Ventura  Counties 65 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources,  San  Bernardino  and  Tulare  Counties 65 

Report    XV — 1918.      Biennial    Period,    1915-1916.      (The    above    county    chapters 

combined  in  a  single  volume) 3  75 

Chapters  of  State  Mineralogist's  Report,  Biennial  Period,  1917-1918: 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources  of  Nevada  County 75 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources  of  Plumas  County 50 

Mines  and  Mineral  Resources  of  Sierra  County 50 

Report  XVII— Calendar  Year  1920 1  75 

Bulletins. 

Bulletin  No.     6 — "Gold  Mill  Practices  in  California"   (3d  edition) 50 

Bulletin  No.  23 — "Copper  Resources  of  California" 50 

Bulletin  No.  37 — "Gems   and   Jewelers'    Materials    of   California"    (1st    edition), 

without  colored  plates,   paper 25 

Bulletin  No.  46 — Index  of  Mining  Bureau  Publications 30 

Bulletin  No.  50 — "Copper  Resources  of  California"   (revised  edition) 1  00 

Bulletin  No.  72 — Geologic   Formations   of  California 25 

Bulletin  No.  74 — California  Mineral  Production  for  1916 

Bulletin  No.  75 — United  States  and  California  Mining  Laws,  1917 

Bulletin  No.  76 — Manganese  and  Chromium  in  California 50 

Bulletin  No.  77 — Catalog   of    Publications    of   California    State    Mining    Bureau, 

1880-1917    

Bulletin  No.  78 — Quicksilver    Resources    of    California,    including    chapters    on 

metallurgy   and   ore-dressing 1  50 

Bulletin  No.  82 — Second  Annual  Report  of  State  Oil  and  Gas  Supervisor 

Bulletin  No.  83— California  Mineral  Production  for  1917 . 

Bulletin  No.  85 — Platinum  and  Allied  Metals  in  California 1—  50 

Bulletin  No.  86— California  Mineral  Production  for  1918 

Bulletin  No.  88— Mineral  Production  of  California  for  1919 

Bulletin  No.   89 — Petroleum  Resources  of  California In  press 

Bulletin  No.  90 — Mineral  Production  of  California  for  1920 

Preliminary   Reports. 

Preliminary  Report  No.  3 — Manganese  and  Chromium   (revised  edition) 

Preliminary  Report  No.  4 — Tungsten,    Molybdenum   and   Vanadium 

Preliminary  Report  No.  5 — Antimony,  Graphite,  Nickel,  Potash,  Strontium  and 

Tin    

Preliminary  Report  No.  6 — Review  of  Mining  in  California  during  1919 

Preliminary  Report  No.  8 — Review  of  Mining  in  California  during  1921 


68  CALIFORNIA  STATE  MINING  BUREAU. 

County   Registers  of   Mines.  PRICB 

Register  of  Mines,  with  Map,  Amador  County $0  25 

Register  of  Mines,  with  Map,  Butte  County 25 

Register  of  Mines,  with  Map,   Santa  Barbara  County 25 

Register  of  Mines,  with  Map,   Tuba  County 25 

Register  ot  Oil  Wells,  with  Map,  Los  Angeles  City 35 

Maps. 

Map  of  El  Dorado  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Madera  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Placer  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Shasta  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Sierra  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Siskiyou  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Tuolumne  County,  Showing  Boundaries  National  Forests 20 

Map  of  Desert  Region  of  California » 10 

Map  Showing  Copper  Deposits  in  California 05 

Map  of  Inyo  County   (Geologic) 60 

Map  of  Mineral  District,  Madera  County 20 

Map  of  Tuolumne  County 25 

Map  of  Forest  Reserves  in  California  (mounted) 60 

Geological  Map  of  California   (mounted) 2  50 

Oil   Field  Maps. 

The  following  maps  of  the  oil  fields  of  the  state  are  now  on  sale  at  the  prices 
stated. 

The   maps  are   revised  from  time   to  time  as  development  work   advances  and 
ownerships  change. 

Map  No.     1 — Sargent,  Santa  Clara  County $0  50 

May  No.     2 — Santa  Maria,  including  Cat  Canyon  and  Los  Alamos 75 

Map  No.     3 — Santa  Maria,  including  Casmalia  and  Lompoc 75 

Map  No.     4 — Whittier-Fullerton,   including  Olinda    Brea  Canyon,  Puente  Hills, 

East  Coyote  and  Richfield 75 

Map  No.     5— Whittier-Fullerton,  including  Whittier,  West  Coyote  and  Montebello  75 

Map  No.     6 — Salt  Lake,  Los  Angeles  County 75 

Map  No.     7 — Sunset  and  San  Emidio  and  Kern  County 75 

May  No.     8— South  Midway  and  Buena  Vista  Hills,  Kern  County 75 

May  No.     9 — North  Midway  and  McKittrick,  Kern  County * 75 

Map  No.  10 — Belridge  and  McKittrick  Front,  Kern  County 75 

Map  No.  11 — Lost  Hills  and  North  Belridge,  Kern  County 75 

Map  No.  12 — Devils  Den,  Kern  County ' 75 

Map  No.  13 — Kern  River,  Kern  County 75 

Map  No.  14 — Coalinga,  Fresno  County 75 

Map  No.  15— Elk  Hills,  Kern  County 75 

Map  No.  16 — Ventura-Ojai,  Ventura  County 75 

Map  No.  17 — Santa  Paula-Sespe  Oil  Fields,  Ventura  County 75 

Map  No.  18 — (In  course  of  preparation) 

Map  No.  19 — Arroyo  Grande,  San  Luis  Oblspo  County 75 

Map  No.  20 — Huntington  Beach-Newport  75 

Map  No.  21— Portion  of  District  4,  showing  boundaries  of  oil  fields,  Kern  and 

Kings    Counties    75 

Map  No.  22 — Portion  of  District  3,  showing  oil  fields,  Santa  Barbara  County —  75 
Map  No.  23 — Portion   of  District  2,   showing  boundaries  of  oil  fields,   Ventura 

County    75 

Map.  No.  24 — Portion  of  District  1,  showing  boundaries  of  oil  fields,  Los  Angeles 

and  Orange  Counties 75 

Map  No.  25— Kern  River  Oil  Field 75 

(The  above  prices  include  delivery  charges  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States.) 


UC  SOUTHERN  REG  ONAL. LIBRARY  FACILITY 


INDEX.  A     000083763     3 


Page 

Alkaline   Salts   *_ 63 

Alum    1  63 

Asbestos _ 53,   55,  57 

Auburn    District    9,   21,   49,   55,  61 

Barytes __53  58 

Bituminous   Rock    

Boalich,    E.    S — _!___" 5 

Borax . 62 

Brick 49,  50,  51 

Cement    '. 50  51 

Chromite 49,   50!  52 

Clay 57,  58 

Coal 7  9 

Collom,    R.    B _'_  64 

Copper     14,   23,   43,  45 

Diatomaceous   Earth 54,  60 

Dolomite 57,  53 

Feldspar    59 

Fluorspar    59 

F"uels    7 

Fullers  Earth ~_ I  59 

Gas 64 

Gems    59 

Gold     ; 15,  23,   43,  45 

Granite     49,   50,  52 

Graphite    59 

Greenstone    56 

Gypsum    59 

Haley,  C.   S - 5 

Huntington  Beach   Oil   Field 11 

Iceland  Spar 53 

Industrial  Materials 52 

Infusorial  Earth 54,  60 

Iridium 42 

Iron   — 19,  46 

Laizure,  C.  McK 5 

Lead , 19,  44,  47 

Lime     — 52 

Limestone     57,  60 

Logan,    C.    A 5 

Long   Beach  Oil   Field 11 

Los   Angeles   District 11,   45,   51,   58,  62 

Magnesite 50,  52 

Magnesium   Sulphate   63 

Manganese 44 

Marble    52 

Metals    12 

Mica    54 

Mineral    Paint   — 58 

Mineral   Water 54,  58 

Molybdenum   19 

Natural  Gas . 8,    10,  11 

Newman,  M.  A 5 

Petroleum     8,   10,   11,  64 

Platinum    13,  20,  42 

Potash     61,  62 

Pumice 60 

Pyrite 54 

Quicksilver 20,   45,  47 

Redding  District 7,   12,   48,   52,  61 

Salines   61 

Salt 63 

San    Francisco   District 9,  43,   50,   57,  61 

Santa  Fe  Springs  Oil  Field 11 

Signal   Hill   Oil   Field 11 

Silica    60 

Silver 20,  42,   43,  47 

Soda   j?2 

Spar,    Iceland §3 

Stone,  Miscellaneous 52 

Strontium    

Structural  Materials 48 

Talc    fil 

Tile                                                                            °1 

zinc  "I:::::::::::::::::—-:-—:- 21,  48 

Zinc   Oxide   *•* 


16218    2-22    2500 


THE  STATE  MINING  BUREAU 

CORDIALLY    INVITES   YOU    TO   VISIT 

ITS  VARIOUS  DEPARTMENTS  MAINTAINED 

FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  FURTHERING 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 


MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  CALI- 
FORNIA 

At  the  service  of  the  public  are  the  scientific 
reference  library  and  reading   room,  the  general 
information   bureau,  the   laboratory  for  the  free 
determination   of  mineral    samples  found    in   the 
state,  and  the  largest  museum  of  mineral  speci- 
mens on  the  Pacific  Coast.     The  time  and  atten- 
tion of  the  state  mineralogist,  as  well  as  that  of 
his  technical  staff,  is  also  at  your  disposal. 
Office  hours:   9  a.m.  to  5  p.m.  daily. 
Saturday,  9  a.m.  to  12  m. 

FLETCHER   HAMILTON, 

State  Mineralogist. 

Third  floor,   Ferry  Building,  San   Francisco,  Cal. 

Branch  Offices:  1123  Pacific  Finance  Building, 
Los  Angeles;  Auburn,  Bakersfield,  Taft,  Coa- 
linga,  Redding,  Santa  Maria,  Santa  Paula. 


